


A Lethal Weapon [Book 1]

by ZariaKnox



Series: Lethal Weapon [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-01-25 18:58:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 122,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12538932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZariaKnox/pseuds/ZariaKnox
Summary: Hanako Uchiha was supposedly a child that had to be executed, but in exchange of her life Fugaku Uchiha promised she would join the Anbu when she came of age. Trying to help her become stronger, her father took her in a mission that would change Hanako's meaning of the word 'Shinobi'. In the Chunnin Exams, she has to either reconfirm her believes or change the way to view to things, but most importantly, she has to face her fears and make a path of her own.*Fanfiction based on "Naruto" from Masashi Kishimoto. The characters of this story don't belong to me, except for some of the OC's. There is no copyright infringement intended in the production of this story.*This book is also on Wattpad, under my username ZKFProductions.





	1. Before You Read

“A Lethal Weapon” wasn’t my first book to write, it was the first book I finished writing. We all get these ideas flooding our minds, and we constantly get the need to write them down. But, how many times do we get full stories out of these ideas? None, mostly. They are just ephemeral thoughts that vanish while we are writing in the computer screen, and leave us there with a shameful writer’s block.

It’s happened to me, a lot more times than I’d like to admit. And it’s happened to you, it’s happened to everyone. That’s why I like to see “A Lethal Weapon” not only as my first completed story, but as my first success. Not only because it’s completed, but because it manages to fulfill me as a writer. It has a story that doesn’t fail to engulf a reader into it, and it will hopefully engulf you as well.

 

Good luck, reader. Enjoy the ride.


	2. Prologue

**_75 years ago…_ **

_“Madara…” She tried_ to say, but everything was fuzzy around her. Her voice couldn’t find its way out. “Madara… I’m so sorry…”

The man she called to, sat right next to her, holding her in his arms. “Amane… hold on, I’m going to save you.”

“No,” the girl shook her head furiously. “You need to get out of here. You have to live. Madara, please…”

Madara pressed his lips into a thin line, but shed no tear. Amane looked up at him with a smile in her face. Blood tainted her teeth red, but she didn’t seem to be in pain. “I want you to live with me,” Madara said.

She shook her head once again. “I’m done for. But don’t worry, I will come back. I promise.”

“How can you come back?” Madara snarled. “No, there’s no way I’m letting you die, Amane. Hang in there.”

“Madara…” Amane raised her hand and caressed his cheek. Madara shivered at her cold touch, but pressed her hand tighter into his face with his palm. “It’s okay…” her voice was a soft murmur, and Madara flinched, closing his eyes tightly. He knew, deep inside, there was nothing else he could do for her.

Her injury was severe, beyond saving. She was losing too much blood far too quickly, and her own body had given up trying to heal. She was just wasting her own chakra, which was far too low as well. If Madara had known Amane was in trouble, he would have to save her, but now it was too late. There was nothing he could do.

“Madara,” Amane said again, her voice almost silent. “I love you.”

For the first time, tears brimmed in his eyes. He clenched his teeth. In her last moments, Amane caressed Madara’s cheek once more before her hand fell, dead weight.

Madara tightened his hands into fists and screamed loudly. The clouds roared with thunder and the soil cracked under his feet. Panting, Madara swore, “I’m going to avenge you, Amane. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”


	3. Another Option

_“She will be_ a danger to us in the future!” Danzo’s voice resonated across the room. The Hokage raised his hand, halting every other voice speaking. Hiruzen Sarutobi was the third Hokage, the current leader of the Leaf Village —he had been for the last 30 years.

“We are not going to execute her, Danzo.” Hiruzen looked at the elder with serious expressionless eyes. Danzo looked back at him with a daring posture. He had always wanted to be the Hokage and resented Hiruzen for getting that title and not him. Danzo also resented him for following the way of the First, who he believed was too bland to be a leader. He preferred the ruling of the Second, who changed drastically all matters concerning the Shinobi by giving them ranks and forming special squads like the ANBU for secret assassinations and the Police Force to defend the village.

The elders were all meeting in the Hokage’s mansion to discuss one of the Uchiha’s youngsters: Hanako. She was born two years prior, but the kid started developing an intriguing chakra which had the elders on edge. “This girl is part of the Uchiha, a Noble Clan from Konoha. We cannot harm her without starting a civil war.”

“That girl has both Senju and Uchiha chakra, she cannot remain unsupervised.” Koharu looked at the Kage with her hands on her lap, tightening her fingers around the fabric of her kimono.

“She won’t be.” Hiruzen looked at the door and called: “Fugaku, please come in.”

The door opened to reveal the current leader of the Uchiha Clan. “Yes, Hokage-sama.” Fugaku bowed in respect towards the head of the village, standing still at the entrance.

“I’m sorry to bother you at a time like this when you were cautiously scheming our war strategy, but we had to discuss some important issues regarding one of yours.” The Hokage stood up from his place and walked towards the Uchiha.

“Is it Yusuke’s daughter?” Fugaku straightened himself to look at the Hokage.

“Would you be willing to sacrifice her?” Danzo suddenly asked. “For the greater good?”

“What ‘greater good’?” Fugaku narrowed his eyes at the elder while unconsciously activating his clan’s most feared Doujutsu: the Sharingan, a blood red eye with three black tomoes surrounding the pupil.

“We are not sacrificing Yusuke’s child, don’t worry about it,” Hiruzen hurried to say while looking at the elder from over his shoulder. “We’re merely going to offer her some…” the Hokage stopped as if to ponder his next words. “Special treatment.”

Fugaku Uchiha looked at him with cautious eyes. “Hand her over,” Koharu said. “Let’s forget this ever happened.”

“What?!”

“Koharu,” Homura —the third elder present in the room— looked at her calmly. “Let Hiruzen handle this.”

“But!”

“That could be an option, yes,” Hiruzen said, making everyone look at him in surprise. “But not yet,” he smiled at Fugaku’s confused face. “I want you to raise her like a warrior.” The Hokage started pacing around the room. Fugaku finally entered the office and the doors closed behind him. All the elders looked up at him from their seats, but the Uchiha leader stood still in the center of the room. “She’ll become an ANBU when she comes of age.”

“There hasn’t been any Uchiha in the ANBU,” Koharu muttered.

“Precisely,” Danzo replied with a smirk, trying to understand the Third’s intentions. “They train to become policemen, and most women stay home doing domestic chores. Why break the Uchiha’s tradition, Hiruzen?”

“Because she’s different,” Fugaku said, looking at the Hokage. “And she is going to receive some special treatment.”

Hiruzen looked at Fugaku with a smile. “Of course, she would be a great addition to our squad.”

“She would be an interesting addition to  _Root,_ ” Danzo added, standing up from his place. “If she eventually becomes an ANBU at some point, she will be my apprentice.”

“Danzo…”

“It’s the only way I’ll agree to this,” replied the elder. “It’s my only condition, Hiruzen. Is this or death. We don’t need another Amane Uchiha, and I will make sure of that.”

 

* * *

 

Clouds were menacing to cover the moon, high in the night sky. It was quite peaceful, regardless of the current war going on outside the Leaf Village. Yusuke Uchiha looked up at the stars covering the blue sky like glitter over a dark mantle. His mind was absent, hovering around the thoughts of his current situation. The elders wanted his daughter dead, his baby…dead.

“Yusuke…” The man heard his name being called and turned towards the owner of the voice. Fugaku, the Uchiha leader, stood at the foot of the house he was on top of, looking up at him. Yusuke stared back at him indifferently, moving into a more comfortable position on the roof.

“What do you want, Fugaku?” he asked. Fugaku, with a soft sigh, jumped to stand beside him on the roof and sat next to him.

“I know what the elders said about your daughter,” Fugaku commented serenely. Yusuke remained silent as he returned his gaze towards the moon. The clouds finally covered its light, submerging them in darkness. “What are you going to do about it?” Yusuke frowned at Fugaku’s remark.

“I have no idea,” Yusuke looked back at Fugaku with a crease forming between his eyebrows. “Do I even have a choice in the matter?”

Fugaku didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he looked away at the road beneath them. “There is another possibility,” he mumbled. This managed to gain Yusuke’s attention with that sole phrase, a single glint of hope, but hope nonetheless. “The Hokage wants Hanako to join the ANBU when she comes of age, Danzo agreed to it.” Yusuke took a deep breath and looked away.

“Which one is better, then?” he wondered out loud. “Death or ANBU?”

“I would say, Yusuke, let’s give her a try,” Fugaku said.

“But what if she’s not a fighter?” Yusuke’s voice broke as he felt the tears gathering in his throat. “What if she gets killed on duty? Isn’t it just the same as an execution? How is that even an option?” Yusuke clenched his fists tightly.

“You’re probably right...” Yusuke pressed his lips into a thin line.

“Why Hanako?” Yusuke raged. “Why she of all children?!”

“We’ll see what to do about it when the time comes…” Fugaku said softly. “In the meantime, I will make sure Hanako reaches their standards. Nothing will happen to her, Yusuke. I promise.” The Leader managed a smile for his friend, who looked at him with wide eyes.

“Please Fugaku, help her. She’s just so innocent… She doesn’t deserve this.” Yusuke scrunched his eyes closed and covered his face with his palms.

Fugaku’s smile instantly faded when Yusuke wasn’t looking at him. He was also curious as to why  _Hanako_ , what did she have that caught the interest of Danzo from their first meeting? It wasn’t even a formal meeting, he was just passing by on the road, and he looked at her— seating on her father’s shoulders—, and then continued walking. A week later, an announcement reached Fugaku’s door asking for the child’s execution. Of course, he didn’t have a valid reason, Hanako was just a kid. What was Danzo hiding, then? Or was it just an excuse to provoke the Uchiha once again?

The relationship between the Uchiha and the Leaf Village was slowly deteriorating, and actions like such would only worsen it even more. Danzo was aware of it, so why would he continue to ignite the fire of hatred between both? Fugaku wanted an answer, and he was going to research to find it.

 

* * *

 

When Yusuke entered his home, his wife was waiting for him, sitting down on the sofa. She was knitting a small wool sweater for her youngest daughter.

“I’m glad you came back,” Akira said without glancing his way. “I don’t think the reunion extended until this late. Where were you?”

“I had to think about something...” Yusuke sat beside her.

“Did something bad happen?” She now looked at him worried. Yusuke pondered on how to tell his wife about the news he just received.

“Not something bad, but not something good, either,” Yusuke said sadly.

“What did they say?” she asked him.

“Fugaku had a meeting with the elders, apparently they are giving Hanako a chance to live.” Akira looked at her husband with hopeful eyes.

“Isn’t that something good?” she asked. “Why are you so gloomy about it?”

Yusuke looked at his wife with serious eyes. “They will let her live, under the condition that she will join the ANBU when she comes of age.” As fast as Akira became hopeful, she lost it suddenly when Yusuke finished his words.

“Just…what is his damn problem?!” Akira tightened her hold on the sweater she was knitting. “Why would he  _dare_ …” Akira let the sweater on the couch as she stood up. “Are you hungry, I’m sorry I didn’t get to cook you anything.”

“I’m okay, honey, I don’t feel like eating…” Yusuke mumbled.

“I’ll just make you a sandwich then…” Akira continued her way to the kitchen. Noises of plates and the fridge opening and closing multiple times could be heard from the living. Yusuke sighed and looked at the wooden floor. Akira could only cook when she was feeling stressed, it was like her own therapy session that seemed to work for her. He could only wish it also worked on him because he didn’t know what to do now. 

 


	4. The Attack of the Kyuubi

_Two years had_ passed and the Third Shinobi World War continued to rage. The Kannabi Bridge was destroyed and Konoha gained advantage over the endless conflict. For Yusuke, it was sad to know that his nephew Obito had died in the mission, but alongside his grandmother and the whole family they prepared a funeral for him in the Naka Shrine. Only the Uchiha were admitted for no other ninja unaffiliated to the clan was allowed inside.

“Dad, where are we going?” a small brunette girl asked impatiently.

“To your cousin Obito’s funeral, he just died in a mission,” answered Yusuke while carrying her in his shoulders.

“What’s a funeral?” she asked again.

“A funeral is a meeting of people done to honor the deaths of family and clan members, darling,” her mother answered this time.

“And why is everyone wearing black?” the girl asked again, observing the people.

“Too many questions,” a raven haired girl about ten years old, commented.

“Hikari, don’t be rude to your sister. When you were her age you asked as many questions.” Her father mocked her, making the small girl laugh.

“Nee-chan must stop being rude to me.” The girl looked at her sister with a wide smile.

“Hanako, don’t laugh at her. It is also tiring to answer all of your questions.” Yusuke sighed. The girl inflated her cheeks in a pout, making Hikari smile victorious. Akira was amused by the scene.

“They are all wearing black because that color symbolizes the mourning,” her mother answered. The little girl watched her, having no idea of what she just said. “When you are in mourning, it means that you’re suffering the death of a loved one, that’s why we wear black to funerals.”

“So, we wear black clothes because we’re suffering Obito-nii’s death?” Hanako asked, finally understanding. Akira and Yusuke looked sadly at the ground.

“Yeah...” Hikari answered noticing the sad looks on her parents’ faces. “Any more questions?” Hanako shook her head. When she saw her parents, she decided to stay quiet until they reached the shrine.

Once inside, Hanako was observing every detail of every corner in it. She asked her father to put her down and at the moment she placed a foot on the floor, she sprinted away and started wandering around the place. There were too many people there, but somehow she managed to move in between their legs. Although when she was about to go in between a last pair of legs, a hand grabbed her from the small kimono she was wearing. She noticed how she was being lifted and when she was turned around she realized it was neither her father nor her mother. It was an unknown person for her.

“What are you doing here, little girl? Did you run away from your parents?” The girl turned to look at where she was going previously and looked at a mat slightly out of place letting at sight a stone door.

“What’s that?” she asked pointing at the mat. The man followed her finger and tensed upon seeing it.

“You’ll know when you need to know,” he said placing her on the floor and taking her hand. “Tekka,” the man called one of the clan members that stood there. “Check that everything is okay in the hideout and place the mat correctly when you come out,” he whispered but the girl managed to listen.

“Understood, Fugaku-sama,” the subordinate replied with a nod while he went on the opposite way the man and the girl went.

“What’s your name?” Fugaku asked looking at the girl.

“Hanako,” she answered shyly looking at the floor.

“How old are you, Hanako?” The girl extended four fingers for him to see. “I see. And do you know where your parents are? You shouldn’t be wandering all by yourself.”

“Hanako!” At that moment Akira picked her up and hugged her tightly. “Where were you?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!” Instantly, Yusuke was also there with his other daughter, noticing his friend’s presence.

“Fugaku...”

“You shouldn’t leave your daughter without supervision,” he said seriously. “It seems she’s pretty curious.”

“Did you find her?” Yusuke scratched the back of his neck nervously with a cheeky smile.

“Thank you.” Akira smiled at him.

“It’s nothing. Now, it’s about time to start the ceremony,” the clan leader said, advancing toward a table with a photo of the dead Obito, accompanied with flowers. All the attendants were silent when they noticed that Fugaku was preparing himself to talk. “This evening, we’re here assembled to honor the death of one of our dearest members, Obito Uchiha. He was a great Shinobi, member of the team guided by Minato Namikaze, better known as the Konoha’s Yellow Flash; his comrades, Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara.

“Obito died in a mission with his teammates, the mission of destroying the Kannabi Bridge. He sacrificed himself for saving his friends and died as a hero at the village’s eyes. And for us, is an honor having this great Shinobi as a part of the Uchiha Clan.” The leader, Fugaku, started with his speech. During the funeral nobody cried, crying was an unnecessary action, only seen as an offense for the honorable deaths.

 

* * *

 

Time seemed to pass by rather quickly. Soon, everyone forgot about Obito, except for his grandmother who still visited him every day at the Memorial Stone. War was finally close to an end, after Konoha and Iwa decided to negotiate an armistice.

Minato Namikaze was named as the Fourth Hokage when the war finally ended. This prompted the Uchiha’s unhappiness towards the administration of the village. Nonetheless, Konoha had a small period of about a year and a half where there was peace and prosperity. But then a tragedy occurred when Minato’s son was about to be born: The Kyuubi was released in the village. That night of a full moon, the town was submerged in destruction.

“Mom? Dad? Where are you going?” a five-year-old Hanako asked.

“We have to go and assist the Hokage,” her father said. “Hikari, take care of your sister,” he ordered his eldest daughter before both of them went away. Time seemed to move slowly and both girls were just looking through the window.

“Nee-chan, I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Hanako muttered.

“I know. Me too,” Hikari—who had just recently become a Genin—said. “But now the only thing we can do is wait until Mom and Dad come back.” She sighed stepping away from the window. “Let’s go to sleep.”

“I’m not sleepy.” Hanako kept standing at the window when she noticed that in a tree branch a hooded man wearing an orange mask, decorated with curvy black lines, was standing there looking at her. “Hikari, there’s someone there!” Hanako screamed turning around looking for her sister, but when she looked again at the branch, the man was gone.

“Hanako?” The raven haired girl came back to stand by her side. “There’s nobody there.”

“There was someone, I swear,” Hanako begged her sister to believe her.

“Let’s go to sleep.” That was the only thing Hikari said before returning to her room. The brunette turned to look once more through the window, looking at the same scenery that didn’t change. She sighed and walked towards her room.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar that made the two girls cover their ears. “What’s that?!” Hanako asked, looking back at the window. Her eyes widened when she saw a giant fox with nine long tails, swiftly destroying all the trees and buildings around it as if they were mere sticks and stones. Hikari’s jaw dropped and she immediately took Hanako from her waist and carried her out of the house. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Putting us to safety,” she replied simply. She perfectly avoided every single piece of debris that fell in her way.

“What about Mom and Dad? They’re still out there!” Hanako screamed, trying to free herself from her sister’s tight grasp. 

“Mom and Dad can take care of themselves.”

“But—”

“Drop it, Hanako!”

The brunette looked at her with wide eyes. She could see the worry in her sister’s eyes when she said that. Hanako just shook her head and broke free from Hikari’s arms. “I’m not.”

“You actually think you can do something?” Hikari asked incredulously. “Look around!” she yelled, her eyes turning red. Her sister already had a mastered Sharingan, and Hanako was awed. She had never seen those eyes. Her parents always refused to show them to her, and now seeing them in her sister was like staring at the starry night for the first time. “This is an emergency. They are evacuating everyone, because not even the Jounin can do anything!”

“But the Uchiha can, right?” Hanako asked. “Those eyes…how powerful are they?”

“This is not the time to talk about the Sharingan!” Hikari snapped.

“But can’t the Sharingan control the beast?” the girl asked. Hikari stopped her motion and looked down at her younger sister with wide eyes.

“How do you know that?” she asked. “You’re not supposed to know anything about the clan’s abilities yet.”

“I was just asking,” Hanako replied. “Though I never thought the Sharingan was such a big deal…”

“Watch out!” Hanako and Hikari immediately turned around to see a man push his daughter out of the way of a large piece of debris.

“Dad!” The girl let out a high-pitched yell. Hanako’s eyes widened as she stared at the blood spreading from under the cement. The girl was about her age, a bit younger maybe, and she had a purple long-sleeved shirt and her brown hair tied up into a high pony tail. She fell on her knees right beside the debris and started to cry uncontrollably.

“Hey!” Another kid reached her side in a moment. He was carrying a baby in his arms with the help of a white bed sheet. “You can’t stay here, come on.”

“But my dad is…”

“Don’t worry about him,” the boy said while looking at her seriously. “We have to get to safety.”

The girl wiped off her tears and, with a short nod, she grabbed onto his shirt. “Thanks, Itachi-kun.” He didn’t say anything back, instead he just continued his way with the girl close behind him.

“Hanako, stop staring, we have to move as well.” The girl heard her sister’s voice over the yelling and terrified screaming of the villagers around her. Everyone was panicking, heading in various directions.

“Everyone calm down and walk towards the Hokage Mountain, now!” A member of the Uchiha showed up and started to guide everyone to evacuate them. Hanako looked around, the fox was gone and no debris was falling around them anymore. Although, everything was utterly destroyed.

“That girl over there…she was...” Hanako commented. She had started walking behind everyone else along with her older sister. “Izumi—”

“I know. She’s our neighbor.” Hikari interrupted her with a sigh. “You guys used to play when you were younger, but then her father didn’t want her to stick around you anymore.”

“Why?” Hanako looked at her sister with a raised eyebrow.

Hikari bit her lip and shook her head. She remembered seeing Izumi’s father at their front door, telling Yusuke not to take Hanako to the same park as they because he didn’t want her child to hang out with a girl like Hanako anymore.

“Just silly adult arguments…” she let out in a chuckle. Hikari knew about what the elders had told her father when she was younger. Their notice asking for Hanako’s execution just a few years earlier didn’t help her cause. Hanako was considered a freak within her own clan because of her Uchiha and Senju traits. They were convinced she wasn’t a pure blood, and insisted in kicking her out until Fugaku intervened. No one thinks she’s ever going to awake her Sharingan because of her condition, so the entire family agreed to not say anything concerning the clan’s powers in her presence. But Hanako was a curious girl, and Hikari should have expected that. Her sister already knew everything, though she had no idea how.

When they were close to the safe rooms, Hanako caught a glance of the boy she had seen earlier with Izumi following closely behind.

“You go ahead,” the boy turned around to say to her, “I’ll catch up in a moment.” Izumi nodded and slowly continued her way alone. She did turn to look back at him in a while. She was scared, not that Hanako blamed her. She had seen her father die just moments ago. “Dad,” the boy stood right in front Fugaku with a stoic face. It seemed as if he wasn’t even a little affected by the situation.

“I supposed you were going to be fine,” Fugaku said and the boy nodded. “Go with the rest of the civilians to the safe room. We will take care of everything else out here.”

Hanako observed as the boy simply nodded and continued his way to the safe room. “Who’s he?” the girl asked as she looked at her sister. Hikari was also staring at the kid with a frown in her face.

“His name is Itachi,” she answered. “He’s Fugaku-sama’s eldest son, and the next in line to become clan leader.” She pressed her lips into a thin line.

“You make it sound as if it were something bad.” Hanako looked at her sister with a worried face.

“You’ll understand what I mean…one day I guess.”

“Why don’t you just explain it to me right now?”

“Because I can’t.” Hikari sighed. “It's just not the time to be thinking about boys, okay?”

Hanako frowned at that. How he was acting through all this mess actually intrigued her. And she wanted to talk to him. “Fine.”

In that destruction, the Fourth Hokage, Minato, died along his wife, Kushina, saving their son Naruto, who then became the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails.

Time went by after that tragedy and the Uchiha were secretly blamed for the attack of the Kyuubi. Therefore, they were moved to the outskirts of the village; but even the Uchiha didn’t notice that they were being watched 24/7 by the ANBU from large towers surrounding the clan’s territory.

Hanako had turned six years old and was trying to convince her father to let her become a ninja just like her sister, Hikari, who had just turned twelve and was promoted to Chunnin after approving the test.

“Please Dad! I want to be as strong as Nee-chan!” she begged with her puppy eyes for him to enroll her into the Academy.

“Wait to be a little bit older.” Yusuke patted softly her head.

“If you’re not going to train me then I’ll train by myself!” The girl took a kunai from his pouch and tried to throw it toward a tree but instead she nailed it on the ground near her feet. Her father chuckled and picked up the knife.

“I told you, wait to be a little bit older.” He put away the kunai and started walking away. “Let’s go home. It’s getting late.”

“I’ll catch up,” the brunette said crossing her arms and sitting down. Her father looked resignedly at her and continued walking.

“Don’t wait too much.” That was the only thing he said before disappearing among the trees. Noticing that she was finally alone, the girl stood up and wandered around.

“I want to be strong. I want to make my father proud just as Hikari does. Why doesn’t he let me?” she thought out loud.

“Because you haven’t showed him that you’re capable of it,” answered a voice behind her. Surprised, she turned around to look at a man.

“Who are you?” she asked, looking at the tall old man, partially hiding in the shadows.

“My name is Danzo,” said the man, coming out of the darkness and closer to her. “I want you to join me and be part of my organization. If you want to, I’ll train you myself and make of you a ninja stronger than your sister.”

“Stronger?” The girl was now interested in his proposal.

“But if you come with me, it will mean that you’re willing to leave your family behind, severe all the bonds that you’ve made,” Danzo said with a calmed frame.

“I don’t want to leave my family,” the girl said defiantly with a frown.

“What if I told you that your father is not that interested in training you? What if I told you that he envies what you’re capable of?” Danzo frowned. “The Uchiha are very envious when it comes to making someone stronger than them. Only some of them are different, but your father isn’t one of them. If you want to be strong, your only option is to come with me, unless you want to train by yourself.”

“My father is not like you say.” Her voice cracked. “He wants me to be as strong as my sister.”

“So young and so naïve, Hanako.” The girl tensed when she heard her name. “You’re a diamond in the rough that doesn’t show its potential, and with your father you never will, because he’s afraid to see what you’re capable of. If you don’t show him that he can be proud, then he’ll never be. To your father, just like any other Uchiha, the only thing that matters is power.” Hanako’s eyes widened and tears started to build in her sockets.

“And how do I get stronger?” she asked with the tears threatening to come out. The man smiled and moved towards her.

“That, you’ll have to discover by yourself. Bring out your power to light, Uchiha,” he said before disappearing from her sight. Hanako felt a shiver run down her back and noticed that it had started to get dark. She knew that they’d be waiting for her at home but she still didn’t want to return. She did not want to see her father’s face and attack him with questions. All she did was let herself drop down next to the trunk of a large tree.


	5. Encounter with the Masked Man

_Yusuke returned from_ the walk he had with his daughter. When he stood in front of the door of his home, Akira suddenly stormed out with a worried face, asking for Hanako.

“She wanted to stay a bit more in the woods, she’ll be back soon,” he said confidently, although deep inside me he must admit he had a bad feeling about it.

“Yeah, I hope so,” said his wife coldly, clearly pissed for leaving Hanako without supervision. “We have visits,” she added, walking back inside. Yusuke was surprised by it. No one would ever visit them. When he walked in, he saw him. Fugaku, his friend, was standing in his living room accompanied by his eldest son, Itachi.

“I’m glad you finally came, Yusuke,” he greeted Yusuke standing up when he saw him inside, just as his son did. “Itachi, he’s Yusuke, one of my best friends and a fellow comrade of mine in the Force.”

“Pleasure, Itachi. Your father has spoken to me a lot about you.” Yusuke smiled.  

The boy only nodded his head. “The pleasure is mine, Yusuke-san,” he muttered politely. 

“He’s pretty well-mannered. You raised him well, Fugaku,” the man joked to the brown haired Jounin who just gave him a condescending smile.

“He must learn how to behave for when assumes his position as the clan leader,” Fugaku assured.

“How old are you?” Yusuke asked the small raven haired boy.

“Six,” Itachi answered.

“Oh! Just like Hanako.” Yusuke chuckled. Fugaku nodded.

“We are just waiting to enroll him into the Academy,” his father announced full of pride. “I’m sure he will become pretty strong, after all, he’s the clan’s future leader. Right, Itachi?”

“Yes, Father.” Itachi smiled slightly at Yusuke and Akira, who stared at him with soft smiles.

“I’m glad.” Yusuke had a fake smile. “And how’s Sasuke?”

“Fine, he’s at home with Mikoto right now,” Fugaku replied with a nod.

“How old is he now?”

“He just turned two, and he turned out to be a really curious kid. Reminds me a bit of Hanako,” the Clan Leader said with a soft smile. “Speaking of which, is either of your kids home?”

“No. Hikari is on a mission and Hanako was walking with me through the woods but she decided to stay a little bit longer.” Yusuke sighed. Akira glared at him for being so careless and speaking about it in front of their leader.

“It’s about to get dark, don’t you think it would be better to bring her back?” Fugaku inquired frowning.

“She said she’d come back and I trust her. She’s not a weakling that walks around unprotected.” Akira let out an exasperated sigh after Yusuke’s remark.

“She’s six years old, Yusuke!” she snapped.

Fugaku sighed. “Yusuke, she’s not a skilled ninja that knows how to defend herself. I don’t even let Itachi wander around too much after certain hours. Go look for her.” Yusuke avoided his look and crossed his arms over his chest.

“What brought you here anyway?” asked Yusuke with a frown.

Fugaku looked at Akira for a moment, then at Yusuke with a serious face. “I wanted to speak to your daughter, Yusuke, Akira. You must be aware that in six years the ANBU will take her away.”

Akira covered her face with her hands and sobbed lightly. Her shoulders trembled restlessly. Yusuke wrapped an arm around her, bringing her close to him. “Just six more years, huh...”

“Have you started her training?” Fugaku asked. “You have to prepare her for the worst, the ANBU are ruthless, and they won’t have any mercy.”

“She can’t even handle a kunai...” Yusuke muttered, tightening his hold on his wife. “She’s not fit for this,” he said, hiding his face on the crook of Akira’s neck.

Fugaku let out a sigh. “Let me speak to her,” he said. “I’ll make sure to prepare her for the ANBU.” Yusuke looked up at his friend. “But first, you have to enroll her in the Academy.” Yusuke nodded, pressing his lips into a thin line.

 “Let’s get going Itachi,” the leader said, starting to walk away followed by his son. “See you around, Yusuke, Akira.” Yusuke observed them walk away until they disappeared in the horizon of the road.

“Fugaku’s right,” his wife commented, slowly pulling her hands away from her face. “It would be better to go look for her before something bad happens.” Yusuke sighed and looked at her.

“I’ll be back soon.” And with that he went off, back into the woods.

 

* * *

 

Hanako watched the sky as it started to become dark, while she rested on the ground. In her mind was still fresh the conversation she had with Danzo just a few minutes earlier. The Uchiha breathed slowly, closing her eyes and inhaling the pure air of the woods. She then opened them to find a man with dark clothes and an orange mask on his face standing right in front of her. She stood quickly and backed away as much as she could.

“You seem scared.” The man spoke with a deep voice. “I see you don’t remember me.”

“Who are you?” she asked confused.

“I couldn’t help but listen to your conversation with Danzo.” He completely ignored her as he continued speaking. “Forget everything he said, he knows nothing about the Uchiha.” He started to move closer.

“And you do?” she inquired curiously, never letting her guard down.

“I can’t say I don’t.” He stopped in his steps. “Correct me if I’m wrong but you want to be a ninja and your father doesn’t want to train you.”

“Danzo-san told me everything I had to do was show my father of what I’m capable of, so he would feel proud of me.” Hanako let out a sigh. “But for that I have to let my power come to light, although I don’t know what he meant by that...” That last thing she mumbled to herself.

“I do,” said the masked man. “In the years I have lived, I’ve learnt that the Uchiha awaken their power when they found themselves in a life or death situation.” He pulled out his kunai. “We only have to let that happen,” he said and suddenly vanished.

Hanako felt a shiver run down her spine when she couldn’t see him, and the darkness that engulfed the woods in that instant wasn’t helping at all. The Uchiha girl felt something behind her, but when she turned around she saw nothing. Hanako looked up and noticed that some leaves were moving strangely. She took a stone and tossed it upwards, it changed its direction when it hit an object. “ _I found you_ ,” she thought in her head, with a small smirk. But then what? She couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t jump up and face him. She didn’t know how to fight. She didn’t even know how to properly handle knives.

“You’re different,” Hanako heard a deep voice like an echo from above her and the mysterious man emerged from the shadows. “Are you a sensor type, maybe?” He jumped to land just right in front of her. Hanako looked at him with terror as she backed away. “It could be.” At that moment she felt an intense pain in her stomach and went flying through the air. She fell hardly on the ground and some tears fell from her eyes because of the strong impact. Hanako stood up still looking at the man. “You’re just a kid, you’ll never be strong. All those fantasies will never come true, you’ll realize that when you really meet the world that you live in. Here there are no dreams, only realities.”

“You know nothing, I’ll be strong.” Hanako looked at the man with courage and narrowed eyes, while cleaning a bit of blood that fell from her mouth. Her eyes stung so she closed them for a bit. When the pain ceased she opened them once again, only to find that her vision had become red.

“Oh...this is getting interesting,” he said amused. “Not every day you see a kid awake the Sharingan at such a young age.” Hanako could see the difference; she was able to see the chakra of the person in front of her. Was this the power of the Sharingan? Was this what her father hid from her every time she asked him about it? Now she understood, now she could finally see it.

The man threw a kunai at her but she could see it slowly moving towards her, so it was easy for her to move backwards and dodge it. The knife fell at her feet, but when she returned her eyes at him, the masked man had already disappeared again. Hanako took the weapon and got ready for another attack. She felt again his presence behind her. She turned around and saw his attack coming, though she didn’t react in time. Instead, she closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. Hanako felt a strong pain in her chest and again she went flying backwards. This time she crashed against a tree trunk and for a moment she wasn’t sure if the crack sound she heard was coming from the wood or her ribs. She looked up slowly at her opponent, deactivating her Sharingan after feeling too tired. She still didn’t have the chakra or the stamina to withstand it for long periods of time. She had never trained for its usage in her six years of life, even though at the age of four they are supposed to start preparing their bodies so that they don’t pass out when it awakens.

“If you say you’ll be strong then...” The masked man came closer and leaned to murmur something next to her ear. “Prove it.” And with that he disappeared with the breeze of the wind. Hanako started to close her eyes, barely able to see the silhouette of a person moving quickly towards her.

“Hanako!” She recognized that voice... 

“Dad...” Hanako managed to mumble softly before she became surrounded by darkness.

 

* * *

 

Hanako started to open her eyes slowly. At first, everything was blurry, but after blinking a couple times she recognized her room. The girl heard the door open and then close. When she turned her head around, she found her mother with a bucket full of water and a couple of towels. She knelt down next to it and wetted one of the towels before putting it on her daughter’s forehead. She then started to nag about what she did and how wrong she was.

“Your father earned a pretty good reprimand when he came back.” Hanako’s gaze was still lost and she was sure her mother had noticed it. “Who knows what else could’ve happened to you if your father hadn’t been on time.” After that, they remained silent for a while. Akira pulled away the towel from her forehead to wet it again before putting it back. She did it two times. “You really scared me.” She murmured softly and the girl’s eyes moved slowly to her mother’s face. “You were out for almost two days. I thought you wouldn’t make it...” She took the towel off Hanako’s forehead. Hanako tried to sit up, although it took a lot of effort from her part. When she finally made it, she felt her head pounding and she moved her hand to hold it, trying in vain to make the pain stop. “I’m glad that you’re okay...” Her mother said in a whisper as she hugged Hanako tightly, making it hard for her to breathe.

“Mom, I’m fine...” The girl mumbled, trying to calm her down. She felt something humid in her shoulder and that’s when she realized...her mother was crying. She had never seen her mother cry. Hanako placed her hands on her shoulders and pushed her apart slow and softly with a smile on her lips. “I’m fine,” she assured her.

At that second, her father entered the room and looked at her with regretful eyes. “I’m so sorry...” he said, to the girl’s surprise.

“Why are you apologizing?” Hanako asked with a frown.

“Because I shouldn’t have left you alone in the woods; if I had just agreed to stay with you, none of this would’ve happened.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Her gaze drifted down. “Thanks to that, I realized something important.” Yusuke and Akira seemed to be surprised at this, since they looked at each other with worried eyes, but didn’t say anything about it. Hanako looked at them, figuring they were expecting her to continue. “I met a man. He told me that the Uchiha were interested solely on power.” Their eyes widened slightly. “He offered to train me, but if I accepted I would be forced to abandon you.” Hanako looked up at her parents for a second before returning her gaze to the ground. “I didn’t want to leave you and that’s why I rejected his offer. But, since Dad wouldn’t train me, I asked him how should I make him proud and be able to change his mind. He told me the only thing I had to do, was let my power come to light.”

“Who was that man?” her father inquired angrily.

“He told me his name was Danzo,” she replied coldly. Hanako interpreted her father’s anger as if he didn’t want her to know something the man told her, or maybe because he was lying? But she didn’t know how wrong she was. Even her mother was surprised by her lack of emotion. She grabbed her arm, making Hanako look at her. The girl softened her gaze and finished saying what she was going to say. “But I do not think that it is so wrong.”

“What do you mean?” her father asked.

“After talking to the man, I encountered a masked man and I fought against him. That’s why you found me in that state... But, Dad, thanks to that meeting I realized what Danzo meant.” Hanako looked at him fixedly. She closed her eyes and opened them again with the Sharingan activated, to their surprise. “I’ve awakened my Sharingan.”

“Impossible...” Her father took a few steps back. According to the clan’s elders, she wasn’t a pure blood, so she wasn’t supposed to awaken her Sharingan. And though she did, at the age of six. Were they wrong? Yusuke frowned. He didn’t understand what the matter with his daughter was. If she awakened her Sharingan, it was because she was a full-developed Uchiha. She inherited the Uchiha abilities.

“Dad...Train me please. I’m ready for anything,” Hanako pleaded. Her father was watching her intently with his eyes wide until, after a long pause in which they only shared glances between each other, he finally sighed resignedly.

“Fine... But you have to do everything I tell you to. We’ll start tomorrow when you’re recovered,” he announced, starting to walk towards the exit of the room.

“Yusuke!” Akira called after him, standing up. Hanako’s father stopped before the door and slid it open.

“It’s okay, Akira. She’s ready.” Hanako smiled looking at her father. He returned her gaze with a smirk before turning back to the door. “You should know by now, what this means…”

Akira watched her husband as he closed the door behind him. “Mom,” Hanako called, making the woman look at her. “Can I get a shuriken kit, now?”  

The horrified look in her face was priceless.


	6. The Ninja Academy

_The next day_ , Hanako went with her father to the training field. They stood in the middle of it as he handed her a kunai.

“To begin, I’ll teach you how to use a weapon. First of all you must seize it in the correct position.” Hanako observed how her father did it and tried to copy him. “Okay, now throw it.” She did what he said but the kunai did not even reach one meter when it was already sunk on the ground.

“I can’t...” Hanako mumbled embarrassed, picking up the weapon.

“Try using your wrist and not your complete arm.” Her father smiled. “Like...this,” he said while, with a subtle flick of his wrist, he threw his kunai to the trunk of a tree. It was fully buried in the trunk, leaving his daughter impressed.

“I want to do that!” the little Uchiha exclaimed excited while she imitated what her father had done previously and threw her kunai towards the trunk of the tree. However, the knife did not reach its destination. Yusuke began to laugh.

“Don’t stress yourself. Practice makes perfection,” he commented as he watched how his daughter maneuvered the knife, correcting her at every error she committed.

Every day, Hanako improved in her training with the kunai and Yusuke finally began teaching her how to use it as a weapon. Hanako used her kunai to evade his attacks, even if they were very slow and he constantly advised her where he was going to hit.

After the first month of training, Yusuke had taught Hanako how to use a kunai properly. He also taught her the _Shuriken Jutsu_ , although she still had not been able to master it properly. Now the next lesson before enrolling her into the Academy would be Taijutsu. First he taught her to battle, some kicks once in a while, but she always tired easily. In the next few months, she managed to significantly improve and then Yusuke decided to finally enroll her in the Ninja Academy.

In her first day, he accompanied her and met the one who would be his sensei from now on. “Good morning, Uchiha-sama,” the man spoke. “My name is Tokuda Yakumo and from now on, I’ll be the one to take care of Hanako. It is an honor to have again an Uchiha with us. I’m sure she will be an elite ninja like the rest of the members of her clan.” Hanako smiled, nodding happily.

The little Uchiha looked at her surroundings, observing how the kids had already started playing with each other. Hanako then looked up at her father, “You’re not leaving yet, right Daddy?”

Yusuke looked down at her daughter and chuckled at her puppy eyes. “You have to stop depending so much on me,” he said, crouching down to be at her level. “Although, I still have to stay for the Ceremony, so today’s your lucky day.” He patted her head.

Hanako smiled victoriously and hugged her father tightly. “I love you, Dad.” Yakuma chuckled as he observed Hanako.

“Isn’t she a clingy one?” Hanako heard his comment and looked at him with a pout.

“I’m not clingy!” she scoffed.

Yusked chuckled, straightening himself. “She is when she wants to be,” he said. “Otherwise, she would’ve pushed me away by now.” Hanako stuck out her tongue towards her teacher, who only chuckled.

“Takeshi, wait!” Hanako heard a man yell to his son at the same time she saw a boy her age approaching her. He had spiky brown her and honey brown eyes, and he smiled at her brightly.

“Hello,” he greeted Hanako with a wave of his hand. “My name is Takeshi Komatsu! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Hanako only stared at him with a raised eyebrow. “Do you want to be my friend? Let’s play together!”

“Takeshi! Don’t run off like that!” The boy’s father quickly appeared behind him, putting both his hands over his shoulders. “I’m sorry mister Uchiha, we didn’t mean to bother you,” he apologized with a cheeky smile.

“It’s okay.” Yusuke shook his head with a chuckle. “Hanako, do you want to play with him?”

Hanako looked up at her father and smiled with nod. “Hai!”

“Let’s go!” Takeshi took Hanako’s hand and pulled her with him.

Takeshi’s father let out a sigh and looked at Yusuke. “Thank you, mister Uchiha. Takeshi only asked who that pretty girl was while pointing at your daughter and before I knew it he was already here asking…” The man was out of breath.

Yusuke stopped him from continuing while putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, you can call me Yusuke.”

The man smiled. “Hai, Yusuke-san. I’m Inoue Komatsu, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Yusuke nodded in approval when something caught his eye. Fugaku was standing in the middle of the crowd with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a frown in his face.

“Oh? Fugaku?!” Yusuke laughed at the same time he approached his friend. “You are here as well?”

Fugaku looked at him and smiled. “Yusuke? You finally decided to enroll Hanako in the Academy?” Yusuke nodded.

“Yeah, and I suppose you’re here for Itachi, aren’t you?” Fugaku chuckled. “Where is he, though?” Yusuke asked, looking all around for the Uchiha boy.

“I don’t know, I was just looking for him. He ran off to Kami knows where. I hate it when he does that…” Fugaku sighed. “And well, did you lose your daughter as well?”

Yusuke shook his head with a roll of his eyes. “A little boy came here asking if Hanako could play with him, so I let her go.”

Fugaku chuckled. “Merely a six-year-old and she already has boys asking her out?”

Yusuke punched his arm playfully. “It’s not like that…”

 

* * *

“So, you’re from the Uchiha Clan?” Takeshi asked the brunette as he looked at her sitting on the swing. Hanako nodded with a smile. “And your name is Hanako-san?”

“Yup!” She giggled lightly. “And you are Takeshi.”

Takeshi smiled mischievously. “Shouldn’t you be calling me Takeshi-kun?” He raised an eyebrow.

Hanako shook her head, copying his smile. “Nah, I don’t feel like it.”

Takeshi pouted, sitting on the floor. “Not even if I call you Hana-chan?” Hanako scrunched her face in disgust.

“I don’t like that,” she said. Takeshi laughed.

“All right!”

“Um, excuse me.” A girl approached them with an innocent smile. “We are missing two people to play ball, do you want to play?” she asked.

“Sure!” Takeshi answered excitedly. “Do you want, Hanako?”

Hanako had zoned out while staring at the girl. ‘ _Izumi_?’ she thought. ‘ _She’s also in the Academy_?’

“Hanako?” Izumi looked at her with widened eyes. “Hanako Uchiha?” Hanako nodded with a smile.

“It’s been awhile, Izumi…” she said. 

“Izumi! Are you bringing them to play or what?” Izumi turned at the boy.

“Shut up, Kaichi-kun. We’re coming!” She then turned to Hanako and Takeshi. “So, should we go?” Hanako looked at Takeshi and nodded.

“All right, let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

“How are you so fast?” Takeshi was having trouble breathing after running after Hanako for almost ten minutes, trying to take the ball from her.

“How are you so slow?” Hanako laughed in chorus with the rest of the kids. Takeshi’s face became red and he looked away.

They were divided into two teams with four kids each. Hanako and Takeshi were playing in different teams. When the boy noticed that Hanako had lowered her guard, he kicked the ball away. “Ha! I got you!” he exclaimed.

The ball went flying away from the kids. “Thanks a lot, genius. Now we have to go look for it,” Kaichi said, rolling his eyes. Kaichi was a blond boy who happened to be in the same year. According to Izumi, he was the second best looking boy in their generation, but that left Hanako wondering who the first was. 

“No,” Izumi said looking at a boy with short black hair at the distance. “Itachi-kun!” she called at him, waving her hand.

Hanako lifted up her head in curiosity. She was calling Itachi, the leader’s son. Itachi looked towards Izumi and then at the ball. He took the ball in his hands and threw it towards them. Kaichi caught it, nodding at the boy.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Itachi’s eyes then met Hanako’s. The girl could feel her heart stop as she focused on the boy’s black orbs. They were empty. Like if there was something missing. She didn’t know for how long did they stare at each other, but it felt like an eternity. Itachi then looked away and continued his way. Hanako bit her lip as she looked at the ground.

Izumi had noticed how Hanako and Itachi were staring at each other and approached the girl with a sneaky smile. “Itachi is the number one,” she said with the giggle. “He’s cute, right?” Hanako blushed at Izumi’s comment, she had quite forgotten how troublesome this girl was when it came to boys.

This boy had caught her attention; he had intrigued her and she wanted to know more about him. Since they were in the same generation, Hanako would take her chance and figure the boy out. She just had to hope they were put in the same class.

 

* * *

 

Hanako hurried the next day to look at the list of the names for each class. She arrived earlier, so she was the first one to stand in front of the board. “Uchiha...” she muttered while she moved her finger down the list searching for her name in the first class. She stopped when she found it and smiled. “Hanako...here I am. Class 1-1.” She continued down the list and her smile vanished. The next person was a Yamanaka. She was the only Uchiha in the class. “So... I’m not with him?” Hanako checked the list once again.

“I did it!” Hanako turned to her side when she heard Izumi’s voice. “Itachi-kun is in my class!” she cheered out loud. “1-2! 1-2!”

Suddenly a boy came from behind Hanako and pushed her down to check on the list. “Oh! Here I am! Did you see that Hana-chan? I’m in your class!”

Hanako pushed him away and rolled her eyes. “I know, I checked the list twice, Takeshi!”

“And you’re not a bit excited?” Takeshi pouted. 

Hanako didn’t listen to him as she was still staring at Izumi celebrating with her group of friends. Itachi was in their class, he was probably already inside, waiting for their teacher to arrive. “Don’t worry about it!” Takeshi noticed her mood down and hugged her to lift it up. “We’re far better than them! That’s why we’re 1-1! We’re the best from the best!”

Hanako smiled at him and nodded. “You’re right...” She looked once at the class and shook her head. She didn’t know why in the first place she had become interested in being in the same class as Itachi. She didn’t even know him, besides, she already had a friend and they were in the same class. Takeshi entered the room and looked at her with a huge grin as he pointed his finger towards the back. Hanako nodded again before following him. “Uchiha or not, I’m going to be the best!” She grinned.

 

* * *

 

“ _Oi_! Wake up!” Takeshi muttered to the brunette in a low voice so the teacher wouldn’t hear them. Hanako didn’t respond, she was fast asleep. “Idiot, is this how you plan to be the first rookie?”

“So, in this situation to escape from the enemy inside a cave full of bats, what would be the best jutsu?” Yakumo looked at his students, waiting to see a hand raised. When he saw none, he decided to call upon a student. “Hanako Uchiha! The answer?”

Hanako jumped awake in her seat and looked at their sensei with wide eyes. “ _Henge no... Jutsu_?”

“ _Henge_?” asked the teacher with a raised eyebrow. “How would you use a transformation jutsu to escape?”

“Well, if you fight inside the cave, all bats are going to fly together outside. So, you transform yourself into a bat and escape with the rest. It’s unlikely the enemy would find you that way...” Hanako finished with a thoughtful face.

The teacher looked from his student to his book. “That’s actually a better answer than the one written here...” Yakumo then seemed to think about something and looked back at his student. “Wait a moment, we haven’t seen the _Henge no Jutsu_ yet—”

He stopped talking when he saw that in his student’s desk there was a bat instead of the Uchiha girl. The girl then appeared in a cloud of smoke and smirked at him playfully. “Sorry sensei, I just had to do it.”

“ _Sugoi_ , she can already do the _Henge_?!”

“ _Sugee_ , Hanako-chan. I didn’t even see you!”

Takeshi clicked his tongue. “Show off...” he muttered at her.

“Number one rookie,” Hanako replied with a smirk.

“Are you making fun of me, Hanako?” Yakumo called upon her with crossed arms. “You are going to stay after class cleaning the classroom.”

“Huh?” Hanako’s jaw dropped. Takeshi only shrugged with a smirk. “Come on...”

 

* * *

 

“It’s been six months already...” Hanako let out sigh as she looked down from the rooftop to the ground.

“Yeah... Time does go fast, right?” Hanako chuckled.

“Right.” The Uchiha didn’t have trouble in staying as the first in her class. Even though the second place wasn’t too far from her. It was a boy named Kazuki Mitokado. He never spoke to anyone, he didn’t have any friends. He preferred to be a loner who read in the recess instead of playing.

Kazuki had almost perfect notes, he only missed a little in hand to hand combat. He lost once against the brunette, and since then he hasn’t stopped training. He also wanted to be the first place, but he had to put all of his effort if he wanted to beat the Uchiha girl.

“I don’t understand, how do you manage to sleep in class and still get perfect grades in the exams?” Hanako looked at Takeshi with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“I just wonder how you do it. I never see you studying, you’re always training near your clan’s district.”

Hanako smiled sheepishly.

“You’ve seen me?” She scratched the back of her neck. “Well... the truth is...”

 

_“Hanako, what are you doing here?” Yusuke found his daughter at the lake as she practiced her shuriken jutsu._

_“I’m really bad at throwing shuriken. If I don’t become better, I won’t be the first place...” she muttered, hitting the center of the target with a kunai._

_“But, isn’t it class time?”_

_“I’m not missing class...” Yusuke looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I found a scroll in your office at home. I learned a few jutsu from it...”_

 

“ _Kage Bunshin_?!” Takeshi’s eyes widened immeasurably. Hanako nodded with a smile.

“You can do something like that? We are not supposed to learn it until the last year, sensei says it’s too difficult!”

“Difficult?” Hanako tilted her head in confusion. “I did it in the first try...”

“Teach it to me!” Takeshi smiled at her. “Teach me the _Kage Bunshin_!”

Hanako looked at him seriously before dedicating him a smile. “Hai, after class. I believe I don’t have to stay and clean today...”

“That’s right... you have stayed every day, right...the teachers must have something against you...”

“I don’t think...” Takeshi lost his balance and fell forward. “Takeshi!” Hanako looked at him wide eyed as he fell rapidly towards the ground.

“Somebody help me!” The boy yelled as he approached the ground and closed his eyes.

Hanako took two of her kunai and tied a metal wire to both ends. She threw herself after Takeshi and launched one kunai into a tree in front of them and the other she nailed it into the building, creating a wire bridge in between. She moved towards Takeshi and grabbed his clothes, pulling him closer to her.

All the kids looked up at her in awe. Hanako had landed swiftly over the wire with Takeshi hanging from his clothes over the ground. The boy was heavy breathing once he opened his eyes and saw the ground so close to him.

“Try to be more careful next time, okay?” Hanako smirked.

Itachi had been reading a scroll in a bench beside the building, but he looked up when he heard the commotion. He saw everything, the boy falling from the roof of the building and the girl saving him. “Who is she?” he asked one of the boys beside him.

“Oh? That’s Hana-chan. She is in the class 1-1, they say she’s the number one rookie in that class.” The boy seemed to remember something and looked at Itachi with wide eyes. “You really don’t know her? She’s also an Uchiha.”

Itachi widened his eyes. “Really? I have never seen her in the clan...”

The boys laughed. “How come? You’re both in the same clan and haven’t seen each other. I don’t believe it!”

“It’s one-sided,” said one of the boys. The rest looked at him in confusion. “Maybe Itachi-san hasn’t seen Hanako-chan. But, Hanako-chan knows who Itachi-san is.”

“Really?” Itachi asked.

“Well, you’re the son of the Clan leader, aren’t you?” The boy shrugged. “But she really doesn’t care... After all, she is amazing on her own...” the boy sighed. “That Takeshi is such a lucky guy...”

Itachi turned away from the boys and looked at the brunette. She had put Takeshi on the ground and untied the string. All the kids surrounded her but she ignored them as she pulled her friend out of the crowd.

“Hanako Uchiha? I wonder... if Izumi might know something about her.” 

 

* * *

 

“You’re concentrating your chakra the wrong way!” Hanako nagged at his friend when he made a bad clone of himself, it didn’t even have the correct proportions. “Balance, Takeshi! Balance!” Hanako crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I know!” Takeshi shook his head and made the hand seal once more. “ _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!” Finally, a perfect copy of himself appeared standing right beside him. “I did it!” They both cheered together.

“Right about time…” Hanako sighed.

“What are you two doing?” A boy their age appeared, his black hair covered his electric blue eyes until he pushed his hair back.

“Kazuki?” Hanako asked. “Your name was Kazuki, right?”

The boy just nodded. “You just did the _Kage Bunshin_ , didn’t you?” he asked, looking at the brunet boy.

“Yeah, why?” Takeshi asked as he made the clone disappear.

“You do know that’s a _kinjutsu_ , right?” Takeshi widened his eyes and looked at the brunette.

Hanako just shrugged. “Everyone still uses it.” She smirked. “If you stay silent, I’ll teach it to you as well, do we have a deal?” Kazuki sighed.

“Sure.”

 

* * *

 

“You are a tough girl, aren’t you?” A group of last year students approached Hanako while she was reading a scroll with Kazuki and Takeshi. Hanako just looked up at them and arched an eyebrow. 

“Who are you?” she asked.

“You know, a kid from first year should have respect towards a student from last year,” the boy said as he pointed his finger at her. “There’s huge gap of experience between us.” The boy grinned.

“You were the ones who approached us in the first place,” Hanako frowned. “Don’t come demanding respect if you’re not going to give it in return.”

The boy grabbed her collar and lifted her up. Hanako remained stoic. “I hate when kids like you are so arrogant and act as if you’re the best in the world.” Hanako just looked at him, while the boy clenched his fist and was ready to hit her.

“Stop!” Izumi and Itachi suddenly appeared. “Let her go,” Izumi said as she looked at them with her Sharingan activated. Itachi looked at Izumi in surprise.

“Those eyes…” the kids muttered in surprise and suddenly they let go of Hanako. The brunette clicked her tongue and looked at Izumi with a glare.

“I don’t need you to defend me, stay out of this.”

The boys broke out of the trance and looked back at Hanako. “But, they were about to hit you!”

Hanako activated her Sharingan and looked at Izumi more intently. Her three tomoes made her eyes more menacing in comparison to the one tomoe Izumi had. “I can defend myself!” Izumi gasped at the look in Hanako’s eyes and backed away. Hanako sighed and deactivated her eyes before looking back at the bullies. 

The kids were sweating until more of them came and cracked their knuckles. The boy who had grabbed her was looking at her with fear in his eyes but the lots of people behind him encouraged him to speak. “We are going to destroy you!” Hanako pursed her lips. “You guys have no chance against us!” There were indeed more than 20 students from last year, all male. Hanako raised an eyebrow at them and smirked.  

“You think you can win if you outnumber us?” The boys glared at her.

“You think you can take out all of us?!”

“Well…” Hanako made a seal with her hand and made 20 copies of herself. “Yes, I do.”

The students widened her eyes at the amount of copies she made, all perfect. Izumi gaped while Itachi only stared at her interested. Takeshi smirked and made ten copies of himself, just like Kazuki did. “Who’s outnumbered now?” Hanako asked.

“What is going on here?!” Yakumo appeared and looked at the bunch of copies of his students. His jaw dropped. The kids undid their jutsus, and the clones poofed away in clouds of smoke. “When did you learn to do that?” he inquired. His eyes fell on Hanako specifically.

Another teacher, who had been watching them, came beside Yakumo. “However you learned it, it’s unacceptable that you are using it against a comrade of your own village!”

Hanako snapped at his accusation and looked at him with gritted teeth. “They were the ones who started!” She pointed her finger towards the last year students. The teacher smirked as he leaned down towards her.

“You really expect me to believe a troublemaker like you? I read your record, Hanako Uchiha,” he said. “You’re the number one rookie in your class, but also the number one trouble. I guess though, that’s to be expected from someone of the Uchiha Clan.” Hanako widened her eyes. “Itachi and Izumi behave well, though. Unlike you…” 

Hanako activated her Sharingan and glared at the teacher. Izumi widened her eyes and tried to stop her but Itachi put a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t believe me? Alright, then I’ll just show you!” Hanako casted a Genjutsu on her teacher and he fell down, unconscious. Yakumo caught him before he could hit the ground and looked at Hanako with worried eyes.

“Ehem…” Hanako froze when she felt someone clear his throat behind her. It was a prominent chakra. She looked from over her shoulder and pressed her lips when she saw the Hokage looking down at her with calm and analytical eyes.

“Hanako Uchiha, Kazuki Mitokado, Takeshi Komatsu… I would like to see the three of you in my office. Now.” The Hokage disappeared. Hanako deactivated her Sharingan, and looked at her sensei with worry.

“I’m getting expelled, aren’t I?” Yakumo sighed.

“I don’t know…With the Third is hard to know.”

“Okay…” Hanako started walking towards the Hokage mansion, closely followed by Takeshi and Kazuki. Izumi and Itachi just watched them go.


	7. Fugaku's Proposal

_Hanako, Kazuki and_ Takeshi stood in front of the Hokage’s desk as the Third looked at them seriously. “How did you learn the _Kage Bunshin_?”

“It was me.” Hanako was the first to say. “I’m sorry, if you are going to punish someone, let it be me. They didn’t do anything Hokage-sama. It was my fault entirely.” Hiruzen smiled at her.

“Well, Hanako. I’m afraid the punishment applies for the three of you.” The Uchiha looked at him with widened eyes. The other two gasped. “You won’t be continuing your classes in the Academy.” Hanako felt her stomach fell as well as her breath taken away. “You don’t have anything else to learn.”

“But…” Hanako could feel her tears gathering at her sockets and she closed her eyes tightly before looking at the ground. “I’m sorry, Hokage-sama… They didn’t do anything. It was me… Please, expel only me.” Kazuki and Takeshi looked at her with their eyes widened.

The Hokage chuckled. “I don’t think you get me, Hanako.” He stood up from his seat, bringing three village protectors with him. “The three of you don’t need to go to the Academy anymore. You are Genin now.” He placed a protector in front of her and Hanako looked at it with wide eyes. “Congrats.” Hanako looked up at the Hokage and he smiled at the three of them. “Use your abilities wisely,” he said as he gave the three kids their protectors. “And don’t attack your Konoha comrades unless you’re training.” Hanako nodded with a wide smile. Kazuki and Takeshi grinned.

“ _Hai_!”

 

* * *

 

Hanako and her friends didn’t return to the Academy after the incident, so the rumors started.

“Hana-chan didn’t come to class today either!”

“Did she really get expelled?”

“No way! She was first place!”

Comments like such were heard every single day. Itachi was also offered to graduate early, along two others in his class. The day of Graduation came, and all doubts were cleared. Hanako was sitting at the back of the class, with her forehead protector on and Kazuki and Takeshi at either side of her. Itachi looked at her for a moment before sitting at the opposite side of them.

“Well, I hope you had a wonderful year!” The teacher entered the classroom with a lot of energy. I wanted to congratulate you for your Graduation, some of you early but still counting!” He chuckled. “Now, before assigning the teams you’ll be working in from now on, I want to introduce a new girl. She graduated from the Academy in Kumogakure, so please go easy on her! Come on in, Hyori!” A small girl about seven years old entered the class. She looked at every student with her brilliant blue orbs and her short brown hair held back with hairpins. “Welcome to Konoha,” the sensei said again and the girl just nodded curtly before sitting next to a blond boy in the front line. “So, now the teams!”

Hanako sighed. She looked sideways at the Uchiha she had observed during her short year in the Academy. “So, he graduated as well?”

“Team 2!” The teacher announced. “Koharu Anami! Hiroki Daishi! Itachi Uchiha!”

“Oh? Itachi?” Takeshi looked at the boy and scoffed. “What is he doing here?” Hanako just chuckled at him.

“Team 3! Kaichi Kazeyama! Ren Sonoda! Hyori Senju!”

“They’re also from our generation, aren’t they?” Kazuki asked.

“Really? I never saw them before,” Takeshi commented.  

“They were probably in class 1-2…” Hanako finished, turning her attention to the teacher.

“Team 4!” he announced once again. “Takeshi Komatsu! Kazuki Mitokado! Hanako Uchiha!”

“Oh!” Takeshi’s eyes glistened. “We are in the same team, Hana-chan!” Hanako hit him in his head.

“I told you not to call me that,” she said. “Too bad, I thought I’d finally get away from you…”

“You’re so mean…” Hanako chuckled.

“I’m just messing with you.”

All the teams were selected. Soon, each team left with their Jounin tutor. Team 4 followed their teacher to the training grounds, where he sat them in front of the Memorial Stone.

“Now, from today on you’re officially Genin. My name is Kaito Hayata, and I’ll be your sensei. So, why don’t you introduce yourselves? I’d like to know who I’m dealing with,” he stated bluntly.

“Fine, I’ll go first,” the brunet boy said. “My name is Takeshi Komatsu. I live with my father. My mother died when giving birth to me so I’m an only child. My father had to quit his career as a ninja to raise me and now he works selling weaponry. My dream is to be the great ninja he couldn’t be so I can honor him. I like to build stuff and train with my sword. I hate cocky people who believe themselves to be superior.”

“So, you basically hate Hanako,” Kazuki commented, earning a glare from the girl. The boy chuckled, “It was just a joke...”

Hanako rolled her eyes, “Sure...”

Kaito nodded, “Fair enough. Next.”

“My name is Kazuki Mitokado,” continued the blue eyed boy. “I live with both my parents. Unlike Takeshi, I don’t have a story to tell so I’ll just say that I like reading technique scrolls in my free time. I dislike when people interrupt me while I’m reading. My purpose is to become a Jounin and a master in Ninjutsu.”

Kaito sighed and looked at the last member. “And you?”

“My name is Hanako Uchiha,” the brunette was the last one to talk. “I am going to become the most powerful Kunoichi of all times. I like training, sparring, taking long walks, dango and sweets. I hate bitter food, people who underestimate me and waking up early in the morning.”

“This is an interesting team, isn’t it?” Kaito chuckled dryly. “Well, if you thought that once you graduated the Academy everything was going to be easier, then you’re awfully mistaken. From now, things are going to be harder. Our first mission begins tomorrow, make sure to be here early.” Kaito looked at Hanako. “Sorry Uchiha, but now you’ll have to start liking waking up early in the mornings.”

 

* * *

 

After a week of the graduation, Itachi walked with his father through the city. People bowed at him in respect whenever they saw him, although Fugaku only smiled politely at them and continued his way. Itachi noticed this and smiled up at him. Fugaku looked down at him when he felt his intent stare. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked with curious eyes.

“Nothing,” Itachi looked down. “I am just proud of you, Father… I feel proud walking next to you.”

Fugaku’s eyes widened slightly before he smiled barely. “I see…” He looked around for a moment, when an idea suddenly popped in his mind. “How about getting some of your favorite food?” he asked.

Itachi looked up at him with gleaming eyes and nodded with a smile. They walked to the closest dango store, but Itachi stared with disappointment at the lady changing the sign from _Open_ to _Closed_. “That’s a shame…” Fugaku commented, “It’ll have to be some other day…”

At that moment, a girl with long brown hair walked out from the store carrying a paper bag. When she looked up, she was surprised to find Itachi, with his father, looking at her. “Itachi-kun?”

“Izumi?”

“Oh?” Fugaku raised an eyebrow. “Is she a friend of yours?” he asked.

Itachi looked at him. “Well… you could say so…”

“Why don’t you hang out for a while?” Fugaku smiled. “I’ve got a lot to do anyway, so I better go back. See you tonight,” Fugaku nodded at his son in goodbye and turned to make his leave.

Itachi looked at his retrieving back and then his attention was caught by Izumi. “Do you want to watch the lake with me?” she asked.

Itachi smiled slightly, “Sure.”

 

The lake’s water was clear as always, it perfectly reflected Itachi’s image when he looked down at it. It was like a perfect mirror of nature. “I’m sorry I interrupted your walk with your father,” Izumi’s voice brought Itachi back from his trance. He looked at her and smiled softly.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.”

“That’s right!” Izumi gasped as she remembered something, “I didn’t congratulate you for your graduation, did I?”

Itachi widened his eyes in surprise and shook his head quickly, “It’s okay, don’t bother —”

Izumi wasn’t paying attention to him as she rummaged through her paper bag. She pulled out and opened a stash of Hanami Dango before offering it to him. “Here,” she smiled. Itachi looked at it hungrily, but when he was about to accept it, Izumi pulled away. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t think it through. Of course a genius like you wouldn’t like sweets.” She sighed. “But I already opened it, it would be waste if they get cold, so I guess I have to eat it now.” She was about to take a bite into the dango when she felt the boy next to her glaring daggers into her head. She looked at him sideways and smiled softly. “Could it be…you actually want some?” she asked.

Itachi blushed slightly and quickly looked away. Izumi took a stick of dango and offered it to him, “Take it.”

Itachi grabbed it, “Thank you…” he muttered softly.

“I would have never thought you like sweets,” she commented as she watched Itachi take a bite of dango. She was amused at how he actually enjoyed it. The sight of it made her chuckle.

“Is it really so strange?” he asked.

Izumi chuckled even more, “No, not at all…” The girl watched as Itachi took another bite and laughed. “Yeah, it is.”

“I really don’t understand the relationship between being a genius and liking sweets,” Itachi said. “For me, it’s perfectly normal.”

“Yeah, I guess it is…” Izumi’s laughter seemed to die down as she took a deep breath. “So, talking seriously, is there anything special you want for your graduation?”

Itachi looked at Izumi briefly before staring away into the lake. “There’s something I want to ask you about, _someone_ actually…”

Izumi looked down and nodded softly, “Oh…,” she looked at the lake. “Is it…about Hanako-san, maybe?”

Itachi looked at her in surprise, “How did you…?”

Izumi smiled. “Who doesn’t ask about her?” she commented with fake humor, and Itachi noticed. “So, what do you want to know?” she looked back at him.

“How much do you know about her?” he asked before eating his last dango.

Izumi shrugged. “I only know we used to play when we were kids. We would meet every day, at the same park, at the same time. It was like our own ritual, neither of us would miss it… Now, we don’t really talk anymore…”

“What happened?”

“She…she stopped coming to the park. One day she missed the ritual, and I felt so alone. The next day, she didn’t come either. Or the next, or the day after. She never came back,” Izumi mumbled. She took a deep breath and wiped away some tears. “She was my neighbor, but it was like she had disappeared. I never saw her again. Until the entrance ceremony,” Izumi shook her head. “I was happy, like if she had never left at all. But I had made my friends and she had made hers, so I think it’s for the best.”

“I see…”

“She graduated too, didn’t she? That’s cool. I’m intrigued, though, as to how she managed to master the Sharingan,” she suddenly said, calling Itachi’s attention. “Even you, a prodigy, haven’t awakened it.” She looked at him, “And I admit, maybe I shouldn’t have awakened it myself. I can’t really control it.” She chuckled lighlty. “But Hanako-san…it seemed to be natural for her. Staring at her eyes was like staring at the eyes of an adult, it was scary…”

“Izumi…” The girl looked at Itachi with curiosity. He was looking at the lake. “How did you get those eyes?”

Izumi smiled. “I don’t really know, they just appeared one day. You will have them, Itachi-kun, I’m rooting for you.” Itachi nodded in acknowledgement and continued to stare at the water. His mind couldn’t stop thinking about the Uchiha girl, and who she was.

 

* * *

 

Hanako was walking back home after she was dismissed by her sensei. Kazuki and Takeshi also went back to their homes, but they lived the other way, away from the Uchiha Compound. “You are Yusuke’s daughter, aren’t you?” Hanako stopped walking when she heard a man speaking to her. She looked up to find him standing in front of her.

“Who are you?” she asked cautiously. The man had interrupted her right at the entrance of the Compound, so it was right for her to assume that the man in front of her was an Uchiha.

“We have met already,” said the man. “But I guess you don’t remember.” Hanako frowned slightly at his lack of response. “I am Fugaku, the Clan Leader.”

Hanako widened her eyes and immediately let herself fall on her knees, bowing at him. “I’m sorry, Fugaku-sama, I didn’t recognize you. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Fugaku approached her until he stood right in front of her. “Get up.”

Hanako gasped and looked up at him in surprise. “What?”

“Stand,” he spoke in a sterner tone. Hanako slowly complied, but kept her head down. “I heard you graduated early form the Academy,” he said. “Congratulations.”

Hanako nodded, “Thank you, Fugaku-sama.”

“I also heard some of your teachers complaining about you,” Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line. “They say you trapped one of them in a Genjutsu, using a third wheel Sharingan… Hanako, have you already mastered the Sharingan?” Hanako looked up slowly at the leader. He wasn’t mad, actually Hanako could see he seemed to be interested in her answer.

“Yes…”

“Can I see it?” Hanako closed her eyes for a moment, until she felt the comfortable heat of her blood running through her irises. When she opened them, Fugaku took a deep breath while his eyes widened. “How…?”

“Need,” she said. “I was in danger, so I guess the instinct helped me.”

Fugaku looked at the ground and closed his eyes. “I see… how long have you had it?”

“About a year.”

“And how did you master it in just a year?” he asked again, this time looking at her seriously.

Hanako just shrugged. “It was like I already knew how to use it. It tired me at first, but I got accustomed to it. My sister helped me control it, she was the one who trained me to use it.” Hanako smiled, remembering her sister’s ecstatic behavior when she found out.

_“Let me see it, let me see it!” Hanako jumped when Hikari suddenly opened the door of her room._

_“Nee-chan!”_

_“Show me your Sharingan!” she exclaimed, inviting herself in. Hikari grabbed Hanako by the shoulders, waiting for Hanako to show her her eyes._

_The girl sighed as blood filled her dark colored irises, turning them into a bright red. One tomoe pointed at her pupil in each eye. “Sugoi…” Hikari muttered in amazement. “Honto ni…sugoi…”_

“Hikari-nee would help me every night. And before I knew it, I already had three tomoes.”

“I see…” Fugaku nodded. “Then, should we test your current abilities?”

“Test?” Hanako reacted in surprise.

“Yes.” Fugaku also activated his Sharingan, staring fixatedly into Hanako’s eyes. “Show me what you can do, Hanako Uchiha.” Fugaku landed a kick into Hanako’s stomach before she had any time to react. The force of the impact sent her flying away from the entrance of the Compound, and she rolled to a stop a few meters away. Hanako slowly stood up, when she felt Fugaku’s chakra beside her. She barely avoided another kick by rolling to the side, then she stood up in a flash and jumped away before he could land another hit.

Fugaku smirked. “Too slow.”

Hanako widened her eyes, she had failed to notice in time that Fugaku was a clone, and the real one stood right behind her. He hit her again, and she fell to the ground, clutching her abdomen in pain. She didn’t expect him to appear just like that, and she didn’t expect him to hit her like that.

“Hanako,” Fugaku appeared beside her once again, and she got ready for another hit. “You are still missing experience,” he said. Hanako looked up at him. “I believe you can improve your fighting skills by learning some of the clan’s own moves. The elders have taken a liking to you, so you have to be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“You need to learn how to defend yourself properly,” he added. “Meet me at the lake every night from tomorrow. I’m going to teach you everything I’ve taught Itachi so far.” Fugaku deactivated his Sharingan. “Rest well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, he left.

Hanako still held her middle tightly as she slowly got up. “Tch…You could have just said so…”

 

* * *

 

The next day, Hanako approached the lake after dark. She had snuck out of the house, knowing that her father wouldn’t let her come after what had happened the time the masked man attacked her. But this was different.

Fugaku was waiting for her, standing on the edge of the deck. “Took you long enough,” he was quick to notice her presence.

“What are we going to do today?” she asked.

“The first thing I taught Itachi in this lake was the clan’s most basic fire technique,” he said. Then he turned to look at her from over his shoulder. “Do you know which one it is?”

“The great fireball?” Hanako raised an eyebrow. She knew about Taijutsu, and she had experimented a bit on Genjustu. But the only thing she knew about Ninjutsu was what she had learned from the Academy.

“Yeah, do you know the seals?” Hanako shook her head. “Come here, I’ll teach them to you.” Hanako smiled brightly and hurried to his side. She was excited to learn a new technique. “Watch. Tiger-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger.” Fugaku finished the hand seals, and sucked air into his lungs. He then exhaled it in the form of fire. Hanako gaped at the fireball, which grew larger than twice her size.

The fire was so hot, Hanako could still feel it even after it disappeared. “Once you learn this jutsu, you won’t be regarded as a kid within the clan anymore.” Hanako looked back at the leader. He was looking at her with a stern face.

“Father?” Fugaku looked up the hill at the new voice. Itachi was standing there looking down at both him and Hanako. “What are you doing here?”

Hanako looked at Fugaku with a raised eyebrow. “He’s your son?”

“Itachi,” Fugaku asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I was curious,” he replied, his eyes were glued to the girl that was with his father. “You left after dinner, you normally don’t do that.”

“Go back home.” Fugaku looked back at Hanako. “Hanako, your turn.”

Hanako nodded with a smirk, and stood next to the leader on the deck. Itachi didn’t go away, instead he observed with interest. The girl performed her hand seals. “Tiger…Ram…Monkey…Boar…Horse…Tiger…” she muttered each seal in a slow pace and then inhaled. “ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!”_ She exhaled a fireball, a small one, but fire nonetheless.

Fugaku hummed. “Alright,” he shook his head. “I think you can do more than that.”

Hanako frowned at him. “It was my first try, what did you expect?!”

“Itachi did it on his first try,” Fugaku said sternly. Itachi walked to stand on deck with them, and made the jutsu. Hanako observed him as he created a giant fireball. She then looked away with a huff.

“Of course he did…” she muttered lowly. Hanako tried again, and this time she managed to create a larger fireball, but not as large as Itachi’s.

“At least, you improve quickly…” Hanako rolled her eyes, and tried again.

 

 

After the training, Hanako walked back the way she had come. She was a bit frustrated on her abilities. ‘ _Itachi did it on his first try,_ ’ Fugaku’s voice still resonated inside her mind. Hanako clicked her tongue and kicked away some nearby stone. “Show off.” Itachi caught the stone with his foot, surprising the girl. She looked up at him and immediately looked away.

“What do you want?” she asked boredly.

“Are you Hanako Uchiha?” he asked. When he looked at her, the first thing he noticed was her Konoha protector on her forehead.

“So?” Hanako shrugged. “What if I am?” She said before continuing her way.

“Why are you training with my father?”

Hanako didn’t reply and just walked past him. Itachi looked at her.

“Hey,” he asked again.

“That’s none of your business,” she replied without looking at him.

“I was just asking.”

Hanako stopped and looked at him from over her shoulder. There was a smirk plastered on her face. “Why? Are you jealous?” She didn’t wait for his reply and continued walking. Itachi hurried to match her pace. Hanako looked at him sideways with a frown and walked faster. Itachi matched her again. “Stop doing that!” Hanako suddenly stopped and glared at him.

“Doing what?” Itachi looked at her confused.

“Walking with me!” Hanako snapped as if it was obvious. “You live the other way, don’t you? Go home!” She continued walking again.

“I’ll walk you home.” Itachi followed her. Hanako stopped again.

“I don’t need you to walk me, go away.”

“It’s dangerous at night, I’ll walk you home,” he repeated seriously. Hanako huffed.

“Who said I was going home anyway?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Leave me alone.”

“Where are you going?”

Hanako growled. “You just won’t shut up, will you?!” She looked at him and seemed to remember something. “Wait, you are Izumi’s friend, aren’t you?” Itachi didn’t respond. “Did she send you to question me?” Hanako narrowed her eyes. “Because if that’s the case, tell her to come ask me herself.” Hanako turned her back to him once again.

“Izumi didn’t send me,” Itachi said. “My name is Itachi Uchiha.”

“I know who you are.”

Itachi looked at the ground and sighed. “I just realized we didn’t have a proper introduction. It’s nice to meet you, Hanako-san.”

Hanako rolled her eyes at him. “Call me Hanako, and I’ll call you Itachi. Is that okay with you?” Itachi smiled softly, but Hanako couldn’t see it since she was still giving him her back.

“Yeah, that’s okay.”

“Well, then. Good night, Itachi,” Hanako continued walking but then stopped. “By the way,” she looked at him. “I will be training with your father in the lake every night. Please, don’t come. I don’t want to be compared to you.” With that said, she continued walking. This time Itachi didn’t follow her, only observed her until she disappeared at the end of the road.


	8. The Mission

**_Three years later…_ **

 

 _Yusuke headed to_ his home in the Uchiha Compound. When he was coming close, he heard the cry of a falcon; and when he looked up at the sky, he noticed that a carrier was circling over him. He frowned and turned to look towards the Hokage mansion.

“What does he want now?” He made a sign and teleported himself in front of the door to the Sandaime’s office. He knocked the door and was immediately let in.

 “I have a mission for you, Yusuke,” the Hokage said and the aforementioned walked closer to his desk.

“What about?” he asked. The Hokage handed him a scroll.

“A retrieval mission,” he said. “I want you to infiltrate the town between Iwa and Kusa and bring back the scroll they stole.” Yusuke nodded. “Form a small team for your mission. Only Jounin allowed. Though, it’s B-rank, I wouldn’t risk anyone else getting hurt.” Again Yusuke nodded and turned to walk out the door. “Leave when you think it’s appropriate. Beware of ambushes.”

“ _Hai_.”

When he exited the office, Yusuke sighed. He walked through the crowded streets of Konoha until he found himself in front of the Police Force. “Why do I feel as if something bad is going to happen?” he mumbled to himself as a frown appeared on his face. He then immediately felt someone’s presence behind him. He turned around, finding Danzo and two of his ANBU staring intently at him.

“I had a feeling I would find you here,” he said as he neared Yusuke.

“What do you want?” The Uchiha answered rather rudely.

“I think we both know the answer to that question.” Danzo smirked. “How’s Hanako?”

“That’s none of your business.” Yusuke frowned making Danzo chuckle.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” The elder stood in front of the Uchiha. “It  _is_  my business. Especially since I want her to become part of the Foundation.” The Uchiha tightened his fists. “Think about it, Yusuke. It’s a great offer, she’ll become an ANBU and—”

“I decline.” Yusuke hurried to say. “I don’t want her to be part of your organization. If she were to become an ANBU, I’d rather have her working under the Hokage’s orders not yours,” he finished. Now it was Danzo who frowned.

“You insolent Uchiha. I will—” The elder started saying until he was interrupted by an authoritarian voice coming from the entrance of the building behind Yusuke.

“What’s going on here?” Fugaku raised an eyebrow when he noticed the tension between the two men. “Yusuke?” The aforementioned turned to look at his leader.

“Why don’t you ask him?” Yusuke glared at the elder. The two companions of the man got into a fighting stance.

“Calm down,” Danzo motioned to his subordinates. “I didn’t say we would get into a fight.” The ANBU put away their weapons. “Your lack of respect will bring you consequences, Yusuke.” Danzo turned his back to the Uchiha. “I want an Uchiha in the Foundation, and I  _will_  have it.” And with that he left, leaving the two Uchiha alone.

 

* * *

 

Hanako dodged a hit directed towards her stomach as she moved to the side and lifted up her leg directing a kick to her sister’s face. Hikari grabbed her ankle and pulled her up, throwing her to the ground. Hanako landed on her hands and rolled over the place until she managed to stop and rest over her back. Hikari neared her as she chuckled softly.

“You’re getting better, Hanako,” she said to her little sister as she reached a hand and helped her up.

“But not as good as you, Nee-chan.” Hanako pouted as she dusted her clothes. Hikari sighed as she crossed her arms.

“You have been training for only four years, Hanako.” She smirked. “I have been for almost ten. Obviously, you’re not at my level.”

“ _Yet,_ ” Hanako hissed and turned her back to her. “I know you’re a Chunnin Nee-chan, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be at your level just because I’m a Genin.” She smirked and looked at her sister sideways. “Next time we spar, I’ll certainly win.” Hanako could hear her sister chuckling and she frowned.

“We’ll see ‘bout that...” And she disappeared. It was probably time for her to leave on her mission so Hanako just shrugged and paced calmly through the training grounds. She felt a warm sensation and stopped abruptly on her tracks. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling. Now, she could feel two of them, and one multiplied. Hanako frowned and opened her eyes with her Sharingan activated as she rushed towards the place where she felt them.

Hanako hid behind a tree when she noticed two people. They were both kids, one of them was near ten years old and the younger one was about four maybe five years old. Hanako jumped and landed over a large branch high on the tree. She recognized one of them to be Itachi. He was hiding behind a tree trunk while the younger boy was apparently looking for him. The girl noticed that the figure of Itachi had less chakra than a normal ninja, and she could feel a similar chakra signature a little bit far from where she was. A clone maybe?

The youngest kid found the “clone” and smiled victoriously.

“Found you!” he exclaimed as he stood right in front of him. Itachi laughed and made a sign with his hands.

“Nice try, Sasuke.” And he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“AH?!” the younger one widened his eyes. “A clone?! I already told you Nii-san, that’s cheating!” Hanako chuckled at their silly argument and turned ready to leave when she felt someone on the same branch where she was standing at the moment. Hanako looked up with her Sharingan still activated and narrowed her eyes when she saw Itachi staring down at her with his Sharingan activated. Hanako smirked and deactivated her Sharingan before standing straight.

“So, I guess you managed to get the Sharingan?” Hanako asked as she raised an eyebrow. Itachi deactivated his Sharingan but narrowed his eyes.

“Why are you watching us?” he asked. Hanako just shrugged and noticed that the little boy was getting far, searching for his older brother.

“I’m a curious girl,” she said. “Don’t worry Uchiha, I’m not stalking you.” She jumped off the branch and landed on the ground, the boy followed. “Anyway, I have to go. You better let your little brother find you, he’s getting too far away.” Hanako started walking until she remembered something and turned to look at him once more. “Oh, and by the way,” she started saying. “Using clones in a hide and seek game  _is_  cheating.” She smirked at his confused expression, and then started to walk away again when she heard him call after her.

“Hey wait up!” Without giving him any time to react, Hanako rushed away until she found herself in the street. She heard someone else calling for her but it wasn’t the same boy in the woods. Hanako turned to find her teammate looking at her, annoyed.

“Where were you?!” Kazuki snapped. “You’re late!” Hanako sighed and walked along with him until they met with the rest of Team 4.

“Kinda forgot we were supposed to meet the Hokage,” Hanako said earning a glare from the dark haired boy. Their sensei sighed when they arrived and gave her a disapproving look.

“So, you finally decided to come. Where were you Hanako? I had to send Kazuki to look for you.” Kaito looked at his student expectantly and Hanako lowered her head.

“ _Sumimasen_ , Kaito-sensei. I was sparring with Hikari-nee and I forgot we had a team meeting.” He sighed once again at her excuse as he shook his head.

“You could’ve waited until tomorrow, they gave you a day off after today’s duty.” Hanako looked up at him and sighed. ‘ _That’s because tomorrow she’ll still be on her mission,_ ’she thought. “Anyway, our mission is to retrieve a lost pet.” 

 

* * *

 

Yusuke was worried. Worried sick. He already had enough with Danzo. He had enough of him thinking that he could do whatever he pleased. But he still was worried that he would try to do something to Hanako, or to him for disrespecting him. Yusuke knew he was capable of it, he knew he  _would_  do it.

“What are you thinking?” He heard Fugaku’s voice interrupt his thoughts. Yusuke looked at him.

“It’s nothing...” They were nearing the Uchiha compound. Yusuke knew Hanako had a mission and he was relieved that it was inside the village and that she would be accompanied by her sensei, that way Danzo wouldn’t be able to get to her.

“Yusuke, you should know by now that you can’t fool me.” The man smirked and looked at Fugaku.

“That sounds like a challenge.” He chuckled but immediately became serious at Fugaku’s death glare. “Can I ask something of you?” Fugaku’s gaze softened.

“What is it?” he asked.

“If something ever happened to me, would you protect Hanako in my place?” Yusuke pressed his lips when Fugaku’s eyes widened. The Clan leader immediately shook it away and looked at the man in front of him seriously.

“If that’d be the case...” Fugaku replied with a smile. “I would protect her with my life.”

 

* * *

 

Hanako returned home after Team 4’s mission. They had to catch a cat. A mission in which she didn’t feel happy at all, especially because after three years of being a Genin she hadn’t gone out of the village. Not even once. Their missions were silly; they treated Genin like some kind of errand runners or something like that. To top it all, their missions were getting lamer every time.

There was a point where she stopped cooperating with her teammates. She refused to follow a cat around for like the tenth time that week. Of course, Kazuki and Takeshi were too afraid of going against their teacher, so they ran after the cat as if their lives depended on it. Although, it was Kaito-sensei who caught it in the end after carefully building a trap.

“ _Tadaima_ ,” Hanako announced her arrival by entering the house, leaving her shoes on one side of the main door.

“ _Okaeri_ ,” her mother replied with a smile.

“How did your mission go?” asked her father while he sipped a little bit of his green tea.

“Well, it was easy just like all the others,” Hanako said bluntly as she sat at the table in front of him. She didn’t need to mention that everything she did was sit down and supervise the rest of her team while they pursued a poor defenseless feline.

“You are pretty arrogant to be just a ten-year old,” her father told her as he stared at her. Hanako laughed slightly.

“Maybe, but it’s who I am, so what can you do?” she said quietly causing her father to just sigh at her attitude.

“I’ve seen that you have quite improved your skills in this couple of years,” Yusuke commented putting his cup on the table. “Especially your use of the Sharingan, after your graduation from the Academy; but I think it is time for you to jump to the next level. That’s why I wanted you to accompany me on my next mission. The Hokage has agreed already, it’s a simple B-rank mission. I think we should be able to handle it, and we will go along with my team.” Hanako noticed that her mother looked at her father wide eyed; apparently she knew nothing of that mission. The girl, for one, was glad that finally her father was taking into account her abilities and had let her accompany him on a mission.

“I’m ready!” Hanako told him excited. Her father smirked and proceeded to explain the mission.

“The mission is to retrieve a scroll that Iwagakure stole. According to the information they have given us, the scroll was taken to the outskirts of the village, into a nearby small town,” Yusuke said, pulling out a map and showing the girl all the locations. Hanako nodded to all he said. “Tomorrow we will think of a strategy to carry out the plan when we’re all present. We will leave early and perhaps take a little time to travel so get ready properly.” Her father told her seriously, to which Hanako nodded and went to her room.

In the kitchen, the two adults remained under the stress of a silence formed by the departure of the young Uchiha. “Do you realize what you’re about to do?” The woman asked, approaching her husband.

“Yes, don’t worry. She is under the care of good hands.”

“Don’t you remember what happened a couple of years ago?” she asked furiously.

“Yes, I remember it perfectly. But at that time she wasn’t trained.”

“And now she is?” Akira inquired.

“Yes Akira, now she is,” he told her seriously, looking straight into her eyes.

“If you just want to take a daughter of yours to this mission, why don’t you take Hikari? She is already a Chunnin and soon they will promote her to Jounin. She is totally capable for a mission like this one...” She tried to say but was interrupted.

“I want Hanako to accompany me,” he said finally. “It is true that Hikari is capable of these things, but that doesn’t mean Hanako is not.”

“It’s an infiltration mission Yusuke, it can be dangerous even for you…” Akira mumbled with concern.

“It’s a B-rank mission. Also, I will be assisted by two Jounin. Everything will be alright,” he said, standing up.

“A mission can jump from B-rank to A-rank in a second. You shouldn’t take her Yusuke. I’m telling you that it is too dangerous!” Akira insisted.

“And I already said that everything will be alright.” Yusuke looked at her, trying to comfort her. “I will take care of her with my life,” he assured her. “I promise,” he finished before hugging her.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Yusuke,” she said gently, clinging to her husband.

“You worry too much, Akira.” 

 

* * *

 

Danzo sat in his office, reading one of his scrolls, but he couldn’t concentrate as his mind always wandered over to a certain Uchiha. Immediately a frown appeared on his face as he leaned on the back of his chair.

“Danzo-sama...” He heard the voice of one of his subordinates and looked up to find him in his ANBU cloak, kneeling before his desk.

“Did you find something?” the elder asked.

“Yes.” The ANBU nodded. “Yusuke Uchiha is heading out for a mission on the outskirts of the village.” Danzo raised his eyebrow interested.

“And what’s his mission?”

“To retrieve the scroll that was stolen in the war by the Stone Shinobi.” A smirk formed on the elder’s lips.

“Is that so?” He stood up from his chair and walked until he stood in front of his subordinate. “I have a copy of each of the village’s scrolls hidden in this building. I know pretty well which scroll was stolen, and I know that in it there’s no relevant information on the village or its secrets.” He continued to smirk as he paced around his office. The ANBU remained still in his kneeling position. “Warn the Stone Shinobi. Tell them that Konoha is ready to claim its belongings. That way, they’ll prepare an ambush and crush Yusuke and his team before they get anywhere near that scroll.”

“But Danzo-sama...” The ANBU started saying but immediately shut up at the intense glare the elder gave him.

“Yusuke Uchiha is nothing but a hindrance. And in order to keep moving on, we have to eliminate it.”

 

* * *

 

Takeshi walked along with his teammate across the crowded streets of the Konoha village. He sighed and observed everything around him trying to pull out his mind from the pool of boredom in his head.

“Hey Kazuki, what if we tell Hanako to go training with us? She likes to train.” He spoke, earning a grunt from his friend.

“Why so much interest in Uchiha, Takeshi?” Kazuki asked.

“What?” Takeshi blushed slightly, thing that did not go unnoticed by his companion. “That is not true...” he said as he childishly inflated his cheeks.

“Really? Then why are you blushing?” asked the raven haired boy pointing out his cheeks, teasing him while he laughed.

“Don’t point at me, it is impolite,” Takeshi said shaking his friend’s hand.

“Hey, don’t change the subject! You like her, don’t you?”

“No.”

“Takeshi likes—” Kazuki failed to finish since Takeshi had covered his mouth with both hands. When he had finally calmed down Takeshi withdrew his hands slowly. “Are we going to look for her?” Kazuki mumbled resignedly.

“If you want to,” Takeshi shrugged, starting to walk towards to the Uchiha Compound.

“It’s you who wants to be with her!” Kazuki cried to his friend before running to catch up with him.

When they had finally reached the front of the house of the Uchiha, they knocked on the door shyly. Hanako’s father was the one who opened it to find the two young men.

“Good afternoon, sir...” Takeshi spoke shyly. “Is Hanako home?”

“Of course.” The man smiled. “Hanako, you have visits!” he called for his daughter and she came downstairs a few seconds later.

“Oh... it’s you guys,” she said when she saw her teammates standing at the door.

“We’re happy to see you as well, Uchiha…” Kazuki said sarcastically.

“Do you know them?” Hanako’s father asked.

“Of course, Dad. They are my teammates, Takeshi Komatsu and Kazuki Mitokado.” She presented her comrades to her father.

“I see, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” they responded both in unison. Hanako’s father returned inside, leaving her with her friends.

“And well, what do you want?” she asked, returning her attention to them.

“Well...” Takeshi spoke nervously.

“We wanted to know if you would join us in training,” Kazuki said finally, when he noticed that his friend would not have the guts to speak.

“I’d like to go, but I have a mission tomorrow and I have to prepare myself.”

“I thought that we were given the day off?” Kazuki noted.

“Yes, but I’ll go with my father to a B-rank mission,” Hanako added happily. “Isn’t that cool?” she said, this time jumping out of excitement.

“B-rank?” Takeshi asked wide eyed. “But we are just Genin, B-rank missions are for Chunnin or Jounin.”

“I know, but Dad said that the Hokage had accepted. I’ll also be going with Dad’s team. I’m pretty sure that everything will be fine,” the girl said in an attempt to reassure his friends. “I learned a lot from my trainings with Fugaku-sama, perhaps this is my chance to put it into practice.”

“Hanako...” Kazuki began to say.

“Okay…” Takeshi said to everyone’s surprise. “Take care.”

“Thank you, I will!” Hanako said hugging her best friend and then Kazuki. Then she went back inside her home leaving her two companions alone outside.

“Why did you do that?” an annoyed Kazuki asked Takeshi who was starting to walk back to his house.

“Because she’ll do it anyway, we can’t change her mind,” he said.

“Do you know how dangerous it is?” Kazuki reminded him.

“She is strong. I know that nothing will happen to her. Trust her,” he said to his friend giving him a smile, although Kazuki noticed by far that it was fake and that on the inside Takeshi was pretty concerned about her safety. Kazuki watched as Takeshi walked away. Now the only thing they could do was wait and hope that everything would turn out well and that nothing bad would happen to the brunette.


	9. Fire

The next morning, four ninjas met at the village gates to prepare themselves for their leave.

“Are you ready, kid?” One of the ninjas asked to the smallest.

“Yes, Father,” she answered excited and with a grin plastered on her face.

“Is it the first time that you go out of the village, kiddo?” Another of the ninjas asked the little girl.

“Yes,” she replied harshly to being called ‘kiddo’.

“I see... You’ll have fun...” said the last, walking over to Yusuke. “What’s the plan, Captain?”

“If we leave now, we’ll arrive in the evening to the village where we’ll find the missing scroll. We’ll look for a place where we can take refuge without being detected and, at midnight, we’ll attack to recover the scroll.” Everyone nodded and looked at the little girl. “We will not rest until we get there, if you get tired let me know and one of us will carry you.”

“Don’t worry about me, Father. I’ll be fine,” the girl assured him. “After all, I’m a ninja, like you,” she said pointing to the headband with the symbol of the Konoha village on her forehead. The others just smiled to the confidence of the girl and departed for the border between Kusagakure and Iwagakure, the setting where their mission would take place.

After several hours of traveling, as expected, Hanako got tired and had to be carried by one of the shinobi from Yusuke’s team.

“You shouldn’t have brought your daughter with you, Yusuke-san,” the one carrying Hanako ─who at this point was sound asleep─ said. “Where we are going is a place where Konoha is considered an enemy and the Third War has barely ended. Most likely, they’ll wait until we want to recover what was lost and they’ll be waiting for us Yusuke. It’s possible that the mission happens to be of a higher rank.”

“The Hokage gave me the necessary authorization.” Yusuke frowned thinking of the possibility of an ambush.

“That’s a lie. Hiruzen would never put at risk the life of a little girl.” There was a pause. “You didn’t say anything, did you? Why did you bring her, Yusuke?” the ninja inquired.

“So Danzo wouldn’t lay a finger on her,” he said calmly. ‘ _Trust me Yoshito, if there were another option I would have taken it,’_ he thought.

“I don’t know what the elders have against your daughter, but I can assure you that she would have been safer back in the Village.” The ninja narrowed his eyes as Yusuke just remained calm looking forward, without even taking glances at him.

“You would be surprised,” he finally muttered. “Hanako needs experience, she needs her instincts to naturally develop. And that can only be achieved if she’s thrown into real life.”

“Is that what you want?” The ninja widened his eyes. “You are going to destroy her childhood, Yusuke.”

“If that makes her strong,” Yusuke said with sadness in his eyes which was noticed by the other ninja. “Then let it be.”

“I can’t believe you.” The ninja sighed as he watched Yusuke intently. “I seriously can’t.”

“That’s because you don’t understand.” Yusuke slightly frowned. “Her chakra is special and if she becomes a Shinobi, it is most likely she won’t have a peaceful life. She is the goal of many others seeking her power. Like Danzo... I just don’t want that to happen, Yoshito. She needs to learn to defend herself.”

“Back in the village there’s a lot of people who can protect her. Fugaku-san, Akira-san…even her own sister,” Yoshito said to his companion. “Here, it’s only us against an army of Kusagakure and Iwagakure Jounin. You’re making a big mistake, Yusuke. Some of us will probably die in this mission.” The Uchiha only continued forward without saying anything. Yoshito sighed.

After this, the Shinobi remained in silence until they reached a small cave on the outskirts of the village. Hanako woke up in time to hear the strategy that was to be carried out at midnight to retrieve the missing scroll. They had everything planned. Almost.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” A ninja from Iwagakure was standing at the entrance of the cave. “Shinobi from Konoha?”

“It seems that there were no elite ninjas to send a child to missions like this one...” Another one said as he played with a kunai on his hands. One of the ninjas of Yusuke’s team positioned himself in front of the brunette as he tried to protect her.

“I can take care of myself!” Hanako complained.

“Sorry but these ninja are just too much for you. You can’t defeat them on your own.” He —trying to protect her— was Yoshito, the one who had carried her during the trip.

“It’s over, we are surrounded!” Another leaf ninja said desperately.

“We can still try…” Yusuke said as he activated his Sharingan.

“Maybe,” Yoshito said. Hanako imitated her father and also activated her mastered Sharingan, calling the attention towards her. “Well to be a ‘kiddo’, your eyes have been well trained…” Yoshito muttered amazed.

“It seems that this is going to be interesting.” The ninja from Iwagakure laughed again slightly while wearing a camouflage technique to appear invisible. The others imitated him. The Uchiha due to their Sharingan could see where all the ninjas were, but they were also too many to reveal the position of all of them. In a single attack, they killed one of the teammates from Yusuke, leaving only the two Uchiha and Yoshito.

“Girl,” Yoshito turned towards Hanako. “I need you to go into that building, and look for a red scroll that has a Konoha seal on it. When you find it, rush directly to the village, forget about us.” Hanako widened her eyes when realization hit her. “We will distract the ninjas and buy you some time.” She turned to look at Yoshito and her father as she felt her chest tighten. She shook her head as a she felt her eyes get watery.

“I...” She tried to say but she got cut off.

“Go.” Her father looked at her with a kunai in hand. Hanako clenched her hands into fists. “I believe in you, Hanako.” Then she noticed the explosive tag tied to its hanger and Yusuke threw it to a tree near them.

When it exploded, all the area was submerged in thick smoke. Taking advantage of the commotion Hanako managed to leave the battlefield, hiding behind the shadow of a house. She ran quietly, trying to not be noticed by any of the guards; although thanks to Heaven, there were just a few of them since they were all fighting the two infiltrators. After she arrived at the big building mentioned, Hanako was able to easily enter and seek out the scroll. When she finally found it in one of the drawers of the desk on the top floor, she smiled victoriously and kept it in her backpack. When she returned to the battlefield, she noticed that Yoshito had been murdered and her father was wounded and completely surrounded. The tightness in her chest came back.

“DAD!” The girl couldn’t help but scream in horror.

“Hanako...run. Don’t let them get to you,” the man said to her daughter, although there was a deeper meaning to those words than what she could understand. Hanako, at seeing one of the ninjas charging at her, took off to one of the rooftops and began to flee, possessed by terror. The ninja threw a kunai and got her in her back, although the girl disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving in her place a log.

“Shit...” the ninja said, looking everywhere around him for the girl. “You should not be very far away girl, admit it, you have no escape.” He laughed maliciously.

Hanako watched him, hidden in the shadow produced by a house. He was right, she had no escape route if it wasn’t dying right there.

From where she was, she could see how they tortured her father. Thanks to her eyes she could read his father’s whisper, his last words to her before they stabbed him with their sword right through his heart.

 _I’m sorry_ , _Hanako. I didn’t want you to see this..._ And he died, his body dropping to the hard soil motionless.  _I believe in you._ She heard his voice in her memories, the last time she actually heard his voice was before he threw the kunai with the explosive tag. Her mind then drifted to when they had their walks; sometimes they would just lie down on the ground and watch the clouds. They would think the many strange shapes each cloud may have and then laugh at the silliest ones.

She felt a strange warmth envelope her in an embrace and she couldn’t help but think about her father’s hugs every time she had a nightmare. She wanted to wake up; this nightmare just seemed too real. She closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip so tightly that a trickle of blood fell across her chin. This wasn’t a nightmare. She fell to her knees as they couldn’t hold her weight any longer. The warmth still continued to envelope her and tighter. She braced herself as several treacherous tears were running down her cheeks.

_I will always be here for you, don’t be afraid._

Those words... He would always say to her those words just to calm her down. She lowered her head and covered her face with her hands to try and stop the tears from falling. ‘ _Stop it,_ ’she said to herself.  _‘Ninjas don’t cry_.’

“So, here you are.” She heard a male voice behind her and her body stiffened. She turned to look at him, her Sharingan still activated. “This time I will not let you escape,” he said derisively.

“This time I will not run away…” she hissed venomously. She felt something strange, not only her whole body was burning but her eyes as well.

“Oh really? And what will you do?” he mocked until his voice faded and his eyes widened. “Your eyes...what happened to your eyes?!” He immediately pulled out a kunai and got into a fighting stance. Hanako looked to her surroundings and noticed a large tank full of gas.

“The gas in that tank over there is flammable right?” she asked maliciously as she threw a kunai with an explosive tag, making it explode close enough so that a hole was opened on one side of the tank, letting the gas escape all over the small village. Quickly, the girl ran, taking advantage of the distraction the explosion caused on the ninjas, and positioned herself over the top of the large tank while the remaining ninjas stood just below it.

“Quick! Don’t let her do anything, she’s just a kid!” One of them screamed with wide eyes, noticing that the girl started to make some hand seals.

“Too late.” She did the tiger seal announcing it would be a fire technique. “ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu._ ” From her mouth came out a big ball of fire. As it made contact with the gas, fire spread and quickly consumed all the village. The smoke of the burning started to go up and take possession of the oxygen. Because of this, Hanako began to gasp for air and fell to her knees, starting to lose her consciousness.

She felt strong arms wrap around her and she was pulled out of the fire and smoke into the woods that surrounded the village. The girl barely opened her eyes and noticed a familiar orange mask.

“You again?” she said looking uneasily at him.

“I see that this time you remember me,” he responded with a deep voice. “You’re lucky to still be alive,” he continued as he carried her on his back. After a few minutes they stopped over the top of a hill, from which the small burning town could still be seen. “Look at what you did.” He showed her the fire that was reducing everything of what was formerly a village to ashes. “You told me earlier that you’d become strong.” Hanako tightened her fists grabbing the black clothes of the man. “With this you’ve already shown me how much potential you actually have.” He started walking away from the hill. “I will take you back to Konoha. From there you’ll have to give the report to the Hokage and the news of the deaths of the Shinobi accompanying you.” She looked sadly to the ground.

“Thank you…” she said to the man’s surprise.

“For what?” He raised an eyebrow from behind his mask.

“If it wasn’t for you, I would be dead by now. Thank you,” she said again, closing her eyes before drifting into unconsciousness.


	10. Grief

_When Hanako fluttered_ her eyes open, she realized she was in one of the forests inside the Fire Country. Even in the dark, she could figure out the silhouettes produced by the little moonlight present. The familiar trees towered above her in a protective way.

The sky was beginning to light up in light purple colors, letting her know that it would be minutes until dawn. Hanako stood up and sought among her things for the scroll she had been risking her life for, for the past few hours. Upon founding the parchment, she smiled victoriously but her grin was wiped out from her face when she remembered her father and his team’s death. She sighed and tried to put her mind in blank, getting away from the memories that disturbed her at that moment.

Hanako began walking towards the village. She walked in grieving silence for the next few hours. The sun, high in the sky, started to burn her skin, even when she was still being protected by the tops of the forest trees. She walked slowly, swallowing her pride as tears ran silently down her cheeks. She once thought she could be invincible but once again, the world proved her wrong.

And once again, she had met _him_. The strange masked man she had met about five years ago. Weird enough, she still remembered him, he was the reason she awakened her Sharingan at such a young age. _If you say you’ll be strong then…_ Hanako shook her head at the voice in her mind. _Prove it._

Hanako clenched her fists as she bit her lip so tightly a trickle of blood ran down her chin. “Ouch…” she reached her hand to clean the blood, and flinched at the burning pain in her lip. She immediately nagged at herself for feeling pain over something so small. “This is nothing compared to what they suffered,” she told herself, reminiscing about the sword mercilessly impaled through her father’s chest and Yoshito’s neck bent in a weird angle.

Pain struck Hanako’s eyes and she lost her balance, falling onto her knees. She quickly covered her face with her hands and let out a muffled scream. She was crying, but she didn’t know if it was for the emotional pain or for the physical one. She gasped, taking in a few breaths to calm herself down.

Clenching her teeth, she got up again. She leaned herself against one of the trees around her to maintain her balance before fully standing. “I have to get to the village…come on, Hanako…move…”

A few hours later, the gates of Konoha finally became visible in the horizon. When she arrived, Hanako told the guards from the entrance that she needed a word with the Hokage urgently. The two male Jounin looked at each other, with worry on their faces, upon seeing a girl about ten years old and with a Konoha headband over her forehead. Hanako was a mess. Her chocolate hair was all full of knots, and with a few sticks and leaves jutting out here and there. Her otherwise angelic face, now looked like a stampede had run over it. Her lip was bloated, there were huge bags under her eyes —probably from lack of sleep—, there were bruises all over her arms and legs, her clothes were dirty —as if she had rolled over a mud puddle and let it dry—, and her fair skin was black with what appeared to be smoke.

They were dubious about letting her in, it could be a trap from an enemy village for all they knew; but her distressed expression and teary eyes made them reconsider their assumptions. A little girl couldn’t be that good an actress, could she? Children were always truthful. She couldn’t possibly mean any harm. Besides, for her headband, she was a Kunoichi of the Leaf, a Genin perhaps. A Genin, without her team. Something terrible must’ve happened, and she was a sole survivor or the others were in danger.

The Jounin looked back at the girl and nodded quickly. Something had happened, whatever it was, whoever she was, they had to take her to meet the Hokage. They escorted her to his building.

  

 

When the brunette entered the Third’s office, she could see the sunset behind the mountains from the large windows behind the Hokage’s desk. How long had it taken for her to reach the Village? An entire day?

The last sunrays hit her directly in her face, but Hanako didn’t flinch at the sudden burst of light. Instead, their warmth felt comforting…or her body was freezing. 

“Hanako Uchiha… So why was I granted the honor of your visit?” A male voice greeted her. The old man was sitting in his comfortable chair, just like her, watching the sun setting through the large windows. His back was facing towards her, how he even knew it was herself who had come to see him, she didn’t know.

“I’ve come to give you the report... of a mission,” she said, trying to appear indifferent without much success since her voice trembled mid-sentence.

“A mission? I don’t recall assigning you one.” The Hokage turned his chair to look at her, and pressed his lips tightly after regarding her current state. Hanako was confused to hear his words.

“But, I went on a mission with Dad... He said that you had accepted that I accompanied him.”

“Your father never told me anything about it.” The Hokage spoke serenely while removing his pipe from his mouth and exhaling smoke. His fine and delicate fingers moving slowly over the wood of his pipe, like rubbing it. “What mission are you talking about?” he asked.

“The mission you assigned to recover this scroll.” Hanako pulled a red scroll from her pouch and tossed it towards him, the damned scroll she had recovered in the course of the night. The Hokage caught it with his free hand, effortlessly. Not that Hanako was surprised about it, the Hokage was known to be the most powerful Shinobi across the Fire Country. Catching a scroll in the air for him was like flipping a pen in her fingers for her.

“Ah, of course... I remember having assigned this mission to your father’s team.” The Hokage’s eyes snapped towards her. “But this mission was a B-rank, what were you doing there?” The old man opened the scroll and began to take a look to confirm that it was the missing one.

“My father took me, but the truth is... I have no idea why he did,” Hanako said, sadly recalling the last words from her father:  _I’m sorry_ ,  _Hanako. I didn’t want you to see this..._

“He must have had a very good reason, and it better be valid. Do you have the report?” The girl nodded and gave him a black scroll. Upon receiving it, Hiruzen began the same process he did with the previous scroll.

She had lazily written the report on her way back to the village, after recovering from her eyesore. She never had to write a report before, or present it to the Hokage. Her teacher, Kaito, was always the one who did that for their Genin missions. She had no idea what to write, so she just scrabbled in her words what had happened. At least, that was what she guessed had to be in a mission report.

Yakumo had made them write several reports for homework in their Academy years. He always praised the way Hanako wrote hers; so full of detail, like vivid, lucid dreams. They were simple reports, true. He asked his students to write what they did that afternoon and then present the report on the next day. Every time he read Hanako’s reports, he could feel like he was right there. He could see what had happened, feel what she was feeling. He was there on her trainings, on her night-outs with Takeshi, on her walks around the village’s inner forests; or so he said. But this time, it was different. She didn’t want anyone that read the report of this recent mission to feel the way she felt. She didn’t want anyone to know what exactly happened. So she wrote everything as superficial as she could. They retrieved the scroll, but they were ambushed by Iwagakure and Kusagakure Shinobi. Almost everyone died, but she was the sole survivor. And that’s it. No further detail was necessary, or so she thought.

The Third was surprised to read it, and when he finished he looked at the girl standing a few feet in front of him. “Then, you were the only one who survived... How did you return to the village if it was the first time you walked out of it?”

“I learned the path we took and just came back through it,” she quickly lied. She had decided that it was best to say nothing about the masked man...for good. “After that, it was very easy to identify the trees and find my way back.”

“Interesting...” he muttered. “I know that you are lying to me, but I won’t question you about it.” The Hokage continued scanning through a little more of the report. “Here it says that the town caught fire and only ashes remained. How did this happen?” Hanako remained silent. She didn’t remember writing that down. “Did you...?” At that moment she felt her stomach drop.

“I did a fire jutsu on a flammable gas and it caused a great fire...” she said with tears in her eyes. Memories were raging furiously in her head. “I was completely surrounded by Iwagakure ninja and there was no other way...” Hanako began crying, not standing anymore the pressure on her shoulders. “I know that many died in that fire by my fault and it wasn’t my intention...” She fell on her knees covering her face with both hands. “I’m really sorry, Hokage-sama.” The Hokage stood up and approached her slowly. He stroked her hair reassuringly when he reached her side, telling her to stand. But Hanako didn’t listen to him.

“The most important thing right now is that you’re safe in the village and that the mission was accomplished successfully, though not in the way expected.” He pulled his hand away and Hanako looked up at him in surprise. “Unfortunately, because you were ambushed by Iwagakure ninjas, the rank of the mission rose to A. For a Genin to complete a mission of this rank is truly rare.” The Hokage looked at her seriously. “You must have some interesting abilities; I’d like to see how far you could go. I’ll be watching you, Hanako.”

 _‘I have interesting abilities? That’s all you have to say?’_ Hanako thought bitterly _. ‘Three of your Shinobi just died, my father was among them, and all you can say is that I have interesting abilities and that you will watch me?’_

The old man smoked again from his pipe. “Now, go give the news to your family and the rest of the clan,” he said sternly. Hanako had hoped to feel something in his voice. Sadness…regret…pity…something, but his voice was plain. Devoid of emotion.

“ _Hai_...” The girl nodded slightly before slowly standing. She quietly approached the door of the office.

“Hanako...” She heard her name being called and slowly turned her head to look at the old man from over her shoulder. “What just happened will remain secret, only you and I know about this. We could get into serious trouble if this mission gets to the ears of outsiders, therefore, do not tell this to anyone.” His serious face caused the girl to gulp.

“Yes sir...” she muttered.

“You can go now.” Hanako hurried outside the office and leaned against the closed door to clear her mind. She pressed her lips into a thin line before pushing herself away from the wooden door and into the long halls of the Hokage mansion. Her feet dragged her towards the exit as her eyes were fixed on the carpeted floor underneath her. She walked, remembering all the times she had with her father. There had been few and sincerely she would’ve liked to have a few more.

 

 

Hanako stood in front of her house’s door and before she had a chance to open it, her mother slammed the door open to greet her. She was worried, and when her eyes downed on her youngest daughter she embraced her tightly, just like her sister who had been just as concerned.

“I’m glad you’re fine,” Hikari said with a smile, as if a heavy burden had been removed from her shoulders.

“Where’s your father?” her mother asked, slightly afraid of the answer when she noticed Hanako’s dull expression.

“Dad...” Hanako began to say as her eyes became watery. “Dad... he... died…” she was finally able to say. Akira was stunned for a moment. She didn’t think her daughter was telling the truth, but if he wasn’t with her then where was he? Akira grabbed her daughter from her chin and pulled her head up, forcing her to look at her.

“Are you telling me the truth?”

“Why would I lie about this?” Hanako asked emotionlessly. She didn’t know how to feel anymore. She was taught in the Academy that Shinobi died each day, and ninjas shouldn’t grieve their deaths or they would be grieving endlessly. That was how they did things. They didn’t care anymore than they should the death of some random ninja. And the Hokage just proved it to her by the way he spoke to her in their early meeting. It was just another death…and there will be more. Akira’s expression didn’t change, she was firm in her beliefs, that her husband was still alive. “If you don’t believe me, I can show you.”

Hanako’s eyes faded into a red color, Hikari and Akira gasped for air before they were sucked into another world. They were surprised to find themselves in a dark cave, illuminated solely by a small fire. Around it were three Jounin and a Genin girl. Hikari looked beside her for her little sister, but she was gone.

Hanako was standing right beside her father. She had a stoic face; she paid attention to all the scheming her father was doing, just like the rest of the ninjas. They finally had come to an agreement, and Yusuke splashed his water over the fire. The cave became dark, the fire on the logs was now substituted by smoke. Hikari watched in terror when some ninjas took advantage of the darkness to enter the cave. She tried to warn Hanako and her father, but they weren’t listening to her. Akira stopped her daughter before she suffered from a sore throat. Her mother knew this wasn’t real, this wasn’t happening. She also knew that this wasn’t an illusion either. This _happened_. These were Hanako’s memories.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” One of intruding ninja asked laughing. “Shinobi from Konoha?”

Hikari covered her mouth. Akira had been all the while clenching her fists, with her eyes open up wide. Everything happened so fast: the ambush, Yusuke creating a diversion for Hanako to escape.

Akira’s heart stopped when Yusuke was limping, being the only Konoha Jounin who still remained standing. He fell to his knees, his face bloodied and his muscles sore. Her eyes teared up when she heard the words coming out of his lips. “I’m sorry, Hanako. I didn’t want you to see this…” Right then, an Iwa Shinobi stabbed his katana right through his chest, and he was dead.

They were all murdered, killed in action. But then Hikari realized, where was Hanako?

She had been so focused, staring in horror at the battle between Konoha and Iwa, that she hadn’t thought about her younger sister. There was an explosion, and then she saw her, Hanako was standing over a large gas tank which had been cracked open. Hikari couldn’t recognize the victorious smirk on Hanako’s face and the shimmering in her Sharingan eyes when she performed the tiger seal with her hands.

“Quick! Don’t let her do anything, she’s just a kid!” Hikari could hear the voice of one of the Iwagakure Shinobi. Hanako’s grin only darkened, like if she could already smell victory on her side.

“Too late,” Hanako said slowly. Hikari could feel a shiver run down her spine, was this her little sister? “ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu._ ” A fireball emerged from Hanako’s mouth. The gas that had been originally inside the tank was quickly consumed by the fire, covering the entire town. Hikari could see the fire moving quickly towards her, she could feel the heat tearing up her skin. However, she didn’t take her eyes from her sister, who watched down as the fire consumed the town with emotionless red eyes. Red, glowing eyes.

Hikari blinked a couple of times before it dawned on her that she was back in the real world. She was sweating, taking quick and shallow breaths. Her mother was on her knees, hiding herself in an almost fetal position as she sobbed loudly. Hanako stared at both of them with opaque black eyes. Hikari knelt down beside her mother, and tried to sooth her while rubbing her back. Hanako turned her back to them and began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” asked her older sister.

“I have to deliver the news to Fugaku-san. He’s the clan leader, he must know…” she said without stopping, not even to glance back at her sister. Hikari frowned, who was this girl and what had she done to her sister?

 

* * *

 

Hanako stood in front of her leader’s house. She inhaled deeply, she still didn’t know what to say or how to say it.

Gathering her thoughts, Hanako carefully knocked on the door. A boy around her age greeted her. He had long dark hair, tied up into a low ponytail. She immediately recognized him. “Itachi?”

“Who are you looking for?” he asked very politely without looking at her, but when their eyes met, his widened slightly for a second before returning to normal. Hanako cleared her throat, shaking her head.

“Excuse me...” she murmured shyly. “Is Fugaku-san home?” she asked looking at the ground, making it hard for Itachi to listen to what she was saying. He caught up onto a few words, and formed the sentences in his head.

“No.” Itachi shook his head, he was staring curiously at the girl. He rarely saw Hanako around and was yearning to ask her where she were just now to be that messy. He respected her petition to not come around when she was training with her father, but it was hard for him since that meant he wouldn’t get to see her. Instead, he observed her trainings in silence while making sure he wouldn’t get noticed by either her or his father. They didn’t speak for three years until they met at the woods. Itachi wondered what had happened to her, but was afraid to ask. “Dad works in the Force at this time. Perhaps you could come back later; or if you want, I can give him your message when he arrives.” Hanako shook her head. She noticed that Itachi was scanning her up and down, and she looked away so she could hide the blush from her face. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah…” Hanako smiled slightly. “Just a tough mission, nothing serious to worry about. And thanks, but I prefer to deliver the message myself, if you don’t mind.”

“No, of course not.” He smiled at her. The girl from the woods, the girl from class 1-1 who everyone in his class talked about. The girl who picked a fight with a bunch of kids from last year and graduated that same year. The girl his father trained in the lake every night for two years straight. “Did my father’s training help you?” he suddenly asked.

“Yeah...” She smiled back. “A lot, actually.”

“That’s good.” Hanako chuckled.

“Is that your best try at making conversation? _Lame_.” Itachi blushed slightly. “You’re a lame cheater.”

“Nii-san, can we go train now?” A small boy appeared behind Itachi with a childish frown. Hanako looked at him curiously as he hid shyly behind his brother’s legs after seeing he wasn’t alone.

“He’s my younger brother.” Itachi chuckled at his attitude. “Sasuke, say hi.”

“Hi...” The little boy greeted softly, still hiding.

“Hello, Sasuke.” Hanako greeted back with a smile. Somehow being with them made her forget about all the burdens she held at that moment. “It’s almost nighttime, are you sure you should go training?” she asked Itachi.

“We always train a little before dinner, no weapons or anything…just a little sparring,” he explained. “Would you like to come with us?” The elder brother invited her.

“Nii-san, does she really have to come?” Sasuke pouted. “She’s all messy.”

“Sasuke! Don’t be rude.” His brother reproached him for his attitude. Hanako giggled at his comment.

“It’s okay, and thanks for the invitation but I’d rather go another time...” she said with a soft smile, looking down at herself. “I think I should go take a shower and put on some clean clothes.” She was still tired and in shock for the past events. The only thing she wanted right now was to stay home.

“It must’ve been a really nasty mission for you to get so dirty,” Itachi raised an eyebrow, his eyes focusing for a moment over her bloated lip. “And hurt.” Hanako hitched a breath and looked at him with a frown.

“Yeah whatever... It was nice to see you Itachi, Sasuke-kun.” The girl bowed to each of the brothers as a sign of farewell before turning away.

“See you later?” Itachi asked. Hanako looked at them from over her shoulder.

“Nii-san!” Sasuke looked at him with incredulous eyes. Hanako just smirked and continued her way home without saying anything.

 

 

Once home, Hanako took a quick shower to clean herself up. The lukewarm water felt so good against her bruised skin. After she was done, she put on her pajamas and crashed on her bed. She tried to sleep but every time she closed her eyes, she could see the disfigured face of the dead ninjas in her mind; and one of the faces belonged to her deceased father. Hanako rolled on her bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Cozy enough so she could have a dreamless sleep, but she didn’t succeed. Hanako heaved a sigh and got up from her bed. She left her room and went downstairs to the living; she was surprised to see Itachi’s father sitting on the couch.

“Fugaku-san...” she muttered in surprise. The adult turned his head to look at her.

“Itachi told me that you had gone home looking for me this evening,” he said as he stood up. “So I headed straight here, did something bad happen?”

“Hanako has something very important to tell you. It’s about Yusuke…” Akira appeared from the kitchen, putting her hands on her daughter’s shoulder in support.

“Well, what happened with Yusuke?”

“My father...” the brunette started saying as she made a big effort not to stutter, “...died in a mission.”

For a few minutes, silence reigned in the room until finally Fugaku decided to make a statement. “I will deliver the news to the other clan members. Thank you for letting me know. We will organize a funeral for him in a couple of days,” he announced steadily.

The two girls nodded as they watched the clan leader walk serenely towards the main door and leave.

Akira and Hanako watched him walk away. Hikari heard everything from the kitchen and walked out as soon as she didn’t feel anymore the intense presence of the man. Then, they went to sleep. That night, for the first time, the three of them slept together; and for once, Hanako didn’t have any nightmares.


	11. Itachi and Shisui

_The sound of_ shattering ceramics was the only thing that could be heard in the almost silent room. Fugaku didn’t know how to feel, he didn’t know what to do. Everything happened all of a sudden, and in his state of shock he felt pretty much desolated.

_“Can I ask something of you?”_

_“What is it?”_

_“If something ever happened to me, would you protect Hanako for me?”_

He didn’t even notice the river of tears that was coming out of his eyes. He didn’t want to believe it, but seeing the dull expression that the little girl held on her face, how much effort she made not to cry...he knew it had to be true. He just couldn’t bear the pain.

He was standing alone in the middle of the Uchiha secret room. The room where all of the clan meetings were held. He had broken a lot of ceramic plates used to hold the fire and light up the hall, but he would replace them later. Right now he only needed something to take out all his sadness and rage on.

Yusuke had spoken to him as if he knew what was going to happen, at least he suspected it. Was this Danzo’s doing? Did the rest of the elders know what was going on?

He broke another plate. It was the last one holding the bit of fire that still remained. Now, he was left in darkness. He let himself fall on his knees and started sobbing. He did not only lose one of his clan members as a leader, but he also lost his best friend. He failed to protect him. How did he even expect to protect all of them? The Uchiha were in danger, and he knew it. He just couldn’t do anything about it. Or at least, he didn’t know what to do.

“Are you all right, Father?” Fugaku was so focused in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the moment when his eldest son came into the room.

“I’m fine.” He replied curtly. He wouldn’t let his son see him in such a disgraceful state. Fugaku had shown Itachi this secret room hidden under the seventh tatami of the shrine when he first awoke his Sharingan. He had thought that he was ready to know the real secrets of the Uchiha Clan, and he still believed that it was the right choice.

Itachi came closer to his father and picked up a torch that fell from one of the broken ceramic plates. He made a fire jutsu with little chakra to light it. When the room was lit up to at least see the silhouette of his progenitor, he walked up to him and knelt in front of him to lower to his level, still holding the burning torch. “You’re not fine, you were crying,” he noted.

Fugaku looked up at him and that’s when Itachi noticed the dry tears that stained his cheeks and his eyes red from the crying. Just how long had his father been here? He hadn’t come back home after he told him that Hanako needed to tell him something important. He had thought that after Fugaku left, he would come back later and have dinner with them like he normally would, but instead he was here in the middle of the night, alone, hiding in the Uchiha shrine and crying his eyes dry. What had Hanako told him that affected him this much?

“Dad, tell me what happened.” Itachi didn’t call him ‘dad’ regularly. Only when the situation called for it. And right now, he saw it much more adept now that calling him ‘father’, which sounded much colder—and what his father really needed was warming up.

“He’s dead,” was all Fugaku said. He was still in shock and he still couldn’t believe for much that he tried. Itachi could notice it, although he didn’t know just  _who_  his father was talking about. “My best friend, Hanako’s father... He’s dead.”

 

* * *

 

“What can I help you with, sweetie?” The miss behind the counter looked at Itachi with a smile, small creases forming around her eyes.

“Two orders of Mitarashi Dango, please.”

“Coming right up!”

Itachi looked down at his laced fingers. “Did you hear about Hanako’s father?” Itachi didn’t say anything as Izumi leaned right beside him on the counter. “My mother was talking about it this morning during breakfast, she said he died in a mission.” Izumi sighed. “Hana-chan must be devastated…”

Itachi looked behind the counter as the old lady carefully poured the honey colored sauce over the small sweet rice dumplings. “She probably is…” He remembered the look on Hanako’s face when he opened the door of his house and she was there, in shock, as if she still didn’t digest what had happened. Itachi frowned at what Izumi had said, “He died in a mission, you say?”

“Yeah…” Izumi looked at him strangely. “That’s what my mother said, anyways.”

_“Are you okay?” he asked._

_“Yeah…” Hanako smiled slightly. “Just a tough mission, nothing serious to worry about.”_

Itachi frowned. Of course, she was not okay. She was all covered in dirt; and hurt. She had _been_ in that mission with her father, she had _seen_ him die. How was she able to talk to him as if nothing had happened? She had come to tell his father that her own was dead. Of course, that wasn’t a message Itachi could deliver on her behalf, she had to do it herself.

The pain in her expression, the dullness in her eyes. Now he understood what had happened, and he felt terrible for not knowing it earlier.

“I should talk to her,” Izumi said. Itachi came back to reality when the miss put his order in front of him and he paid for the dango—with a thankful smile. Izumi was still talking, but Itachi wasn’t paying attention to her. “I mean, I know what it’s like to not have a father. I was pretty young when he died, so I don’t remember much about him though. Besides, I haven’t seen Hanako in years, have you?”

Itachi walked out of the store, carrying his bag of dango carefully in his hand. Izumi followed quickly behind.

“Itachi-kun?” Itachi looked at her. “Have you heard anything about Hana-chan?”

“She came to my house two days ago, looking for my father.”

“And how was she?” Izumi’s eyes lit up, but Itachi only looked at the ground.

“Not okay,” he said. He continued walking, with a faster pace.

Izumi halted on her steps, quickly understanding his actions. Itachi didn’t speak, he acted. He was too kind to tell someone he wanted to be left alone, therefore she learned to translate his body language. Itachi had grown up to be a loner, and she understood that. He appreciated from time to time her concern, but she knew that he would spend most of his time by himself—reading books in the library or training— than with company.

 

 

 

“Heading somewhere?” Itachi stopped in his tracks when a voice spoke to him right from above. He was walking in the middle of the forest.

“Shisui-san?” he asked, looking up at one particular tree.

“Bingo!” The Uchiha landed in front of him, holding a kunai in his hand.

“You’re back,” Itachi muttered.

“Stating the obvious now? Really, there’s nothing you need to say to me?” Itachi looked at the ground while holding his bag tightly.

“Not really…” Shisui chuckled, patting Itachi’s head.

“That was cute.” He flipped the kunai he had on his fingers, and nailed it on the tree behind him. “So, do you want to train?”

Itachi sighed, “Not really.”

Shisui stopped what he was doing to look at Itachi with widened eyes. “Come again?” Itachi just sat beside a tree trunk, laying his back against the bark. He rummaged through his dango, and shoved a dumpling into his mouth. He enjoyed its sweet flavor with closed eyes for a moment before he swallowed. “I’m just not in the mood right now.” He ate another one.

“Not in the mood?” Shisui scoffed. “So, if the enemy attacked right now, would you tell him you’re not in the mood?”

“Maybe, would that stop him?” Itachi shoved the last dango on the stick into his mouth.

“Probably more like dazzle him,” Shisui shook his head.

“Good enough,” Itachi shrugged, taking another bite of his dango. “Shisui-san…do you know a girl named Hanako?”

“From the clan?” Shisui looked at him. Itachi nodded. “If it’s Hanako Uchiha you’re talking about, then yes. The elders talk about her all the time. Apparently, she’s a troublemaker,” he said. “A _talented_ troublemaker, though.”

“Talented?”

“Yeah, she got first place in the Rookie Jutsu Demonstration last year, she won the platinum kunai. All she did was activate her Sharingan, apparently the judges loved it.” Shisui pondered it for a minute. “No wait, scratch talented. She’s a _clever_ troublemaker… She knows what to do and when to do it.”

Itachi chuckled. “How do you know she didn’t compel the judges to give her the kunai?”

Shisui looked at him with a terrified look in his face. “That would make her clever _and_ talented.” Shisui shook his head, trying to free his mind from those thoughts. “Anyway, why the interest in the girl all of a sudden? You don’t seem like the type to develop an interest. Especially not in girls, if you know what I mean…” Itachi glared at him for a moment before focusing back on his dumplings. He had already eaten two sticks, and was now starting the third.

“Her father died a couple of days ago, and I’m kind of worried about her…”

“Wait, WHAT?! Yusuke-san is _dead_?!” Shisui looked at him bewildered. “I thought you said you had nothing important to tell me!” Shisui covered his face with his hands. “Oh my… Hikari…” The eldest Uchiha turned away, ready to leave. “I’m sorry, Itachi. I have to go, see you some other time, okay?”

“The funeral is tomorrow morning, first hour.”

Shisui nodded. “Thanks, I’ll be there.”

Itachi sighed as he watched his friend go. Shisui was his only friend, his only _real_ friend. Perhaps he was the only person he ever knew that could understand his feelings, who thought the same way he did. But his interest circled now around a girl his age. His father was constantly telling him to find friends, that loners didn’t grow as much as those socially active. Maybe, meeting a girl like Hanako was what he needed. A troublemaker, like Shisui referred to her. He wanted to know, how someone like her would think. Someone who wasn’t afraid to face some bullies twice her age from the Academy, someone who could easily push away her feelings to smile at him and pretend that nothing had happened, when in reality she had just witnessed a horrible scene and her wounds were still there to remind her. He wanted to know more about her, Hanako Uchiha. Without noticing, he had finished the third stick.

Itachi suddenly stood up and walked towards the lake. He still had one more dango stick left, and was saving it for later. When he reached his destination, he stood on the hill and looked down at the dock. There was someone there. Someone who was furiously throwing stones at the water. Someone who suddenly screamed loudly and fell on her knees. Hanako Uchiha.

The girl noticed his presence right away, but pretended she didn’t. Itachi walked towards her. “What are you doing here?” she asked lowly when he was close enough, not looking at him.

“I come here a lot,” he answered. Itachi’s gaze softened. Hanako was healed now, at least physically, but emotionally she was still wrecked. Without saying anything, he sat beside her and offered her his last dango stick.

Hanako observed it but looked away. “I’m not hungry,” she said. Itachi put it down, close to where her hand lay.

“Eat it later, then.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Eat it.”

“No.”

Itachi sighed. “When was the last time you ate?” Hanako only shrugged, looking down at the lake.

“Hanako, you can’t just stop eating.”

“Try me.”

Itachi took the dango, pulled it out of its bag and put right in front of Hanako’s face. The girl looked away, but her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl. She had gone days without food in her system, and it hurt badly. She gasped in pain, grabbing her stomach. Itachi looked at her with worry and forced the food into her mouth. Hanako pushed him away.

Tears fell down her cheeks as she turned her back to him. “Go away,” she muttered softly. Her stomach was still growling loudly. “I should starve to death. I should’ve died with my father. But I am here, alive, and he is not…”

“Hanako…” Itachi muttered gravely. “He wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself.” Hanako’s stomach growled again. “Here,” he offered the dango to her once again. Hanako looked back at him and this time she accepted it. She took a bite of it and smiled when the flavor melted in her mouth.

“This is good, where did you buy it?” she asked.

“I can buy you more if you want to,” he offered. Hanako looked at him.

“I can buy it myself, I just asked you where.”

Itachi smiled, “I am not telling you.” The girl frowned.

“Why?”

“You’ll have to let my treat you if you want to know.” Itachi looked back at the lake. His smile was still plastered on his face. Hanako couldn’t stop staring, and when she went to take another bite of her dumplings, she realized she had already eaten all of them. She clicked her tongue and threw the bamboo skewer away. She was still hungry and tempted to accept his offer.

“Why are you doing this?” she looked away.

“Isn’t that what friends do?” he asked, looking at her sideways. Hanako looked back at him, obviously surprised.

“Friends?”

Itachi smiled and stood up, walking away from the lake. “Let’s go.” Hanako watched his back, still in shock. Was he assuming they were friends? Hanako scoffed and looked at the lake. ‘ _Maybe it isn’t so bad…_ ’

 “Are you coming or what?” Itachi asked from the top of the hill. Hanako looked up at him and blushed slightly. He was smiling down at her.

“Sure, why not…” she muttered lowly before following him.

 

* * *

 

The day of the funeral came and all the family and clan members dressed in black for the mourning. All the Uchiha headed to the Naka Shrine, place where the funeral would take place and where Obito’s funeral was also set. The place was crowded and Hanako suddenly lost track of her family. She didn’t want to be there in the first place. It all just happened too fast and she wasn’t ready to handle it. The young Uchiha broke through the crowd and found her way outside, seeking for fresh air and a peaceful place for meditation.

Hanako lay over a house rooftop, relaxing while she watched the clouds follow their own path in the sky.

“I don’t think you should be missing the funeral,” she heard a young boy’s voice, who she recognized as Itachi when he sat by her side.

“I don’t need to remind myself of his death,” she replied coldly. “And you should be there too.”

“I don’t like funerals. When I have the chance, I leave without people noticing,” he simply shrugged, looking at her with analytical eyes. “I also saw you sneaking out, and I followed you.”

“Heh, I should have guessed so…” she commented sarcastically. After that, they remained silent for a while.

“I’m sorry...about your father...” Itachi muttered after the long pause.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hanako narrowed her eyes. “Sooner or later it was bound to happen. Although I would’ve preferred it to be later...” she looked up sadly at the slowly moving clouds.

“Losses are part of a Shinobi’s daily life. That’s why we must learn from them, so we’re able to protect those who are still with us,” Itachi said.

“But I’m not strong enough,” the girl mumbled unconsciously. “I don’t want to go through this again.”

“None of us do,” Itachi looked at her with calm eyes.

Hanako remained silent without exactly knowing what to say. She turned to look at Itacho sideways but he was as calm as ever, staring ahead.

 “May I know what are you guys doing here?” A voice startled Hanako and Itachi, making them turn to find its owner. He was a tall guy, a few years older than them, and with black hair just like most of the members of the clan.

“Shisui-san...” Itachi mumbled. Hanako looked at her companion with a raised an eyebrow. Did they know each other?

“Shisui…” She looked over her shoulder, acknowledging the guy behind them. Shisui came closer.

“Why aren’t you at the funeral?” he asked again as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Like I said, I just didn’t feel like going in and remind myself that my father’s gone.” Hanako looked away, avoiding his glance. “What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you be comforting my sister or something?”

Shortly after, she felt a hand on the top of her head and turned to look back at Shisui, a bit surprised by his action. He smiled down at her gently. “I comforted her yesterday,” he said. “I don’t think she would mind if I comforted you today.”

Hanako cursed herself when she felt her eyes get watery again.  _’Not again, I thought I was done with the crying…’_ she closed her eyes tightly, preventing the tears from falling. “I don’t need you to comfort me.” A small tear fell all the way across the girl’s cheek but she quickly wiped it out. Shisui noticed.

“You’re such a liar.” He pinched her cheek, making Hanako smile softly at him. Shisui then looked at Itachi, who was staring at Hanako. The elder Uchiha smirked. “It’s a weird sight, the two of you together…” Shisui’s hand fell to his side.

“Excuse me?” The girl glanced at him.

“Itachi asked about you yesterday,” he seemed a bit surprised about the fact. “Never thought it was relevant until, well now,” he commented with a chuckle, as if he had just solved a puzzle. He looked at Itachi with gleaming playful eyes. “Now I understand why you asked so much about her… Are you finally having a crush on someone?” Shisui asked looking at Itachi.

“Shisui-san!” Itachi looked at his friend with a frown and daring eyes.

Hanako chuckled, shaking her head. Both boys turned to look at her. “It’s okay, I get that lot when I’m with Takeshi. We were just talking,” she said.

“Right,” Shisui muttered, not sounding convinced. “You still hang out with him? When is he going to confess, anyway?” Itachi looked at the brunette with curiosity.

“Stop, Shisui, you know we’re just friends.”

“Just friends, yeah right.” Hanako glared at him.

“When are _you_ going to confess to Nee-chan?” Shisui glared back.

“It’s not like that!”

“What are you, _just friends_? I’m not an idiot.” Hanako turned to look at Itachi. “Tell him he’s an idiot for thinking I’m an idiot.”

“Why would I do that?” he asked.

“Isn’t that what friends do?” she smirked at him. Itachi widened his eyes.

“Don’t listen to her, Itachi, she’s pretty good at playing games.” Hanako looked at him with an innocent smile.

“Do you want to play?” she asked, blinking a few times.

Shisui scoffed. “You’re such a troublemaker.”

“Troublemaker?” Hanako narrowed her eyes. “Tsk, idiot.” She looked back at the front.

“So… the ceremony has just begun, but I guess neither of you is up for another of Fugaku’s speeches. Are you?” Itachi and Hanako looked at him. Itachi just flushed a little before looking at the ground like a small puppy feeling guilty after being caught while doing what he’s not supposed to. Hanako, in contrariwise, just looked at him seriously before rolling her eyes and answering his question with another question.

“Are _you_?”

Shisui smiled at her comeback. “Not really.” Hanako smirked and shook her head. “Are you guys on the mood for a walk then?”

“In the woods?” Hanako’s eyes lit up.

Shisui looked at her with a smile, “Sure, why not?”

 

 

 

The fresh air of the woods never failed to clear Hanako’s mind. For once in that troubled week, the girl finally felt calm and relaxed. “I love the woods,” she suddenly commented, earning the attention of the other two boys walking along with her. “It’s like the only place where I can put my mind blank.”

“I love the scent of pine trees, it’s refreshing. Smells kind of like ‘new’.” Shisui added. Hanako looked at him strangely.

“How come a tree smells like ‘new’?” she raised an eyebrow. “The taller the older, that’s what my father taught me.” Hanako suddenly caught her breath at the mention of her father.

“Actually, the age of a tree is measured by the amount of rings in their trunk,” said Itachi.

“Wouldn’t you need to kill the tree to know how old is it, then?” Shisui asked the other boy.

“Naturally.”

“I think that’s enough,” Hanako gulped. She had started trembling at the mention of the word ‘kill’. Even the woods couldn’t heal her from her pain, it seemed.

A sudden presence made goosebumps appear along her arms. It was so intense, she stopped breathing for a second. Shisui seemed to notice as well as he stood behind the girl with his back turned to her —as if trying to hide her from something. An old man dressed in a brown tunic, walking with the help of a cane, approached them slowly. He was being accompanied by two masked ANBU.

“Danzo-sama...” Hanako heard Shisui mumble.

“How lucky of me, running into whom I wanted to see...” Hanako felt as if time had stopped around them. “You spared me the task of finding you.” She could notice a small smirk forming on the man’s face.

“Us?” Itachi replied with a raised eyebrow. Hanako felt something moving next to her arm and it suddenly caught her hand. She looked down and noticed Itachi’s hand holding hers. “Go home.” She could hear him mumble next to her ear. Hanako nodded softly, taking a few steps backwards until her back hit something. Hanako caught her breath and looked around. She saw the coat of one of the ANBU that previously stood beside Danzo. She gulped and turned back to look at the elder.

“I’m afraid she’s not going anywhere,” Danzo said as he turned his back to the kids and started walking away. “I want to talk to you three. Now, follow me.” They did as he say, under the constant watch of the two ANBU guardians.

Danzo guided them to the ANBU headquarters, a building located at the outskirts of the village. After going through a series of stairs, they stopped behind the man they were following. The elder turned around and looked intently at the three Uchiha. His seriousness made Hanako feel uncomfortable. Each side of them was guarded by an ANBU, who was facing them. They moved, forming a ring around them. Hanako and the others stood in the middle of the intersection of four different bridges in a straight angle. Each of the bridges had red railings that extended throughout their length. If Hanako looked up, she could notice pillars that were holding the underground roof. If she looked down, she could only notice the darkness of a never ending abyss. The place smelled like rust.

Hanako searched unconsciously for Itachi’s hand. The feeling of it holding hers was strangely comforting, and she felt like she needed it. Itachi reacted immediately to his hand being held captive by the brunette and he looked at her in confusion. Hanako was scared of this man, but why? He squeezed back her hand to get her attention. Hanako looked at him. Itachi smiled reassuringly at her, and the girl smiled back slightly before looking at the ground—trying to hide her blushed face with her cascading hair.

“I brought you here because I think highly of you, and I think you could do much better under my guidance. In other words—”

“You want us to join the Foundation,” Shisui interrupted him, earning a glare from the elder. Hanako looked up when she heard Shisui’s voice. He sounded angry.

“The Foundation?” she asked curiously earning the attention of the elder. She could notice the devious smirk on his face.

“I personally command my own ANBU squad. However, the missions we take are a little bit different from normal ones and they are accomplished with the sole purpose of the village’s benefit. Plus, they are to remain secret.” Danzo explained, but that only made the girl more confused.

“And how are your ANBU different from the Hokage’s?” she asked.

“We work under the shadows, we lack emotion and we are specially trained for these kind of missions. These ninja know what the real meaning of a Shinobi is,” replied one of the ANBU around them.

Hanako remained silent as she watched the man on the brown tunic walk closer to her. “You… Hanako Uchiha, after the death of your father, what are you planning to do?” Hanako was stunned.

“I can’t...” She mumbled. She shook her head furiously, looking at the ground. Her hold tightened around Itachi’s hand. The boy had to hold his breath at the feeling of her nails digging into his skin.

“Train once in a while along with my subordinates. I want to see how well you develop your abilities,” was all Danzo said, to Hanako’s relief. He now turned to Itachi and he cautiously neared him. “I heard that you will be doing the Chunnin Exam very soon. I have a feeling that this year, they will be interesting to watch.” Then, he finally headed to Shisui. “As for you,” Hanako looked sideways at the elder, releasing her hold on Itachi’s hand. The boy sighed as he rubbed his harmed limb. The girl could notice that Shisui and Danzo were eyeing each other too much and she could feel a strange vibe coming from both of them. “You may leave. Do not say anything from this place or else you’ll have to assume the consequences.” Danzo announced and walked away from them. The ANBU escorted the Uchiha towards the exit and disappeared. Hanako observed the other two boys, waiting for some kind of explanation.

“Come on, let’s go to the lake. I’ll explain everything you want to know, there.” The older Uchiha said, walking away from the building. Itachi and Hanako followed him. After a couple of minutes, they reached the lake and the girl sat at the edge of the dock, observing her own reflection on the water. There were other two reflections next to it. One was Itachi and the other one was Shisui. They were both looking at her through their reflections. Hanako sighed and turned back to look at them.

“You’re still too young to understand what’s going on…” Shisui said, looking at both kids with pity. Hanako frowned and looked away.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said, moving her eyes to look at him again sideways. “I’m not a little girl that needs your pity. And I don’t want it, either.” Itachi sighed. “I will never understand if you don’t tell me, I thought that Danzo was about to say something important, or did he just want to chat for a while?” she inquired raising an eyebrow. “If that’s the case, then why did he make us go all the way down there?!” she complained, standing up. Hanako felt so small all of a sudden. Even though she was standing, Itachi was still a few inches taller than her and Shisui almost a feet.

“Just one word,” Shisui sighed. “Genjutsu.” Hanako’s eyes widened.

“You caught him in a Genjutsu? But...when?” The Uchiha girl thought about all of the present movements and reactions during the chatting. Nothing was out of normal, could it have been...?

“It’s impossible for you to have noticed. That’s Shisui’s ability,” Itachi started explaining. “He can trap anyone in a Genjutsu without them noticing. He can even control people that way.” _‘Amazing_ … _’_ that was the only thing she could think about. She had never observed Shisui in action, and had no idea of his abilities.

“I manipulated Danzo to chat about trivial things instead of forcing us to join the Root,” Shisui said, closing his eyes for a moment. “However, I can’t do it again for a while.”

“Does that ability wear you out too much?” she asked.

“Not that much...” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “But it’s not something I can do whenever I want to.” Hanako stared at him silently. “Like I said, it will be awhile before I can use it again.”

“Shisui...” The girl muttered, looking back at the water.

“Hm?” He raised an eyebrow looking at her.

“How old are you?” He smirked and looked away at the lake.

“I think I’m a little bit too old for you.” Hanako scoffed and threw at him a small pebble she found on one side of the dock, but he dodged it easily. “I’m sixteen,” he chuckled.

“How do you know Danzo?” Shisui instantly became serious and a frown formed on his face.

“I pass on that question,” Hanako nodded with a sigh, turning back to the lake.

“Why do you think Danzo wanted us to join Root?”

“What is this? Twenty Questions?” Shisui inquired.

“It is if you want it to be,” Hanako snapped at him. “This isn’t an interrogation, you know…”

“So young and so snappy...” he said with a smirk on his face. “Definitely, Hikari’s baby sister.” Hanako glared at him fiercely.

“I’m not a baby!”

Itachi just remained silent, watching the scene with interest. “I’d like to see you grown up.” Shisui chuckled, staring at the forest behind the body of water. “But if you really want to know, I’ll tell you. Like he said, Danzo trains ninja without feelings to accomplish missions that normal ninja wouldn’t be capable of.” Hanako nodded softly. “But they are really harsh missions.” His look tensed. “Missions in which the risk is so high that you even have to sacrifice your own comrades, or even yourself, for the sake of the village. They force you to kill your loved ones...” His glare softened. “They train you since childhood, making you believe you’re all a big family; but in the end, it’s all meant to strengthen these bonds and then severe them in the blink of an eye—by making you kill each other. That way, he manages to suppress those feelings.” Shisui was lost in thought until Itachi’s voice brought him back to reality.

“It sounds awful,” he commented.

“It  _is_ awful.” Shisui pressed his lips. “But it doesn’t matter, just be careful with him.” He walked to the edge of the dock. “Come on, let’s do something.” He placed one of his feet on the surface of the water and then the other without much thought.  _’He’s standing on the surface?!’_  Hanako thought with surprise. He then started walking until he reached the center of the lake and turned to look back at them, with a raised eyebrow. “What are you guys waiting for?”

Itachi jumped and landed a few feet away from Shisui, managing to balance himself on the water. Hanako’s eyes widened, was he able to do it too?!

“Why don’t you come?” Itachi asked, looking back at her. Hanako scoffed.

“Unlike you, I’m not that good and I still don’t know how to walk on water…” The girl looked away in embarrassment when she heard Shisui’s chuckle.

“I can’t see what Danzo wants from a kid that doesn’t even know how to use her chakra properly,” he teased, making Hanako clench her fists.

“Shut up...” Shisui chuckled again.

“Just concentrate your chakra on the soles of your feet,” Itachi said. “It’s easy.” Hanako considered what he said and tried to focus as much chakra as she could, but she still couldn’t find a balance.

“Easier said than done...” she mumbled.

Somehow, she had managed to stand on the surface; but at the moment she tried to walk she suddenly fell in the water. An arm pulled her out and held her as she coughed out all the water that got into her lungs.

“Well, at least you tried.” Shisui chuckled again. Hanako looked up with a glare to find him holding her, right at the spot where she fell. He was perfectly balanced on the surface and looking at her with a smirk. How did he do it?!

“It’s normal to fail on the first try,” Itachi said with a soft smile. Hanako turned to him, he was looking at her with genuine interest and that made her blush. She frowned, looking away from him. She bet he must be laughing his guts out on the inside.


	12. Hide and Seek

_Hanako, Shisui and_ Itachi stopped walking when they reached a clearing in the middle of the woods. That’s where Shisui finally put the dripping girl down. The trees were so high that they even covered part of the sunlight, and Hanako admired some rays that managed their way through the leaves and reached the ground. A soft breeze blew and some dry leaves fell slowly until they reached the ground.

“Let’s do something.” Hanako heard Shisui’s voice and turned to look at him. “Something that will help Hanako dry up,” the girl scoffed and looked away.

“What exactly?” Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow. Shisui brought a hand to his chin and seemed to ponder for a second until he came up with an idea. He looked at the other two children with a playful smirk and wiggled his brows in a funny way.

“Let’s play hide and seek.” Hanako looked at him strangely while Itachi only rolled his eyes. All this for playing a game? The girl furrowed her brows, it actually didn’t sound that bad at all. She smirked.

“Alright, I’m in!” The girl turned to look sideways at Itachi, who didn’t say anything. Shisui sighed at his attitude.

“Come on, Itachi. I know you play all the time with your little brother but you’ve never played with us.” Shisui crossed his arms over his chest.

“I thought children games bored you,” Itachi commented while raising an eyebrow, looking at his friend.

“Just one game,” Shisui smiled sheepishly as he stuck out a finger. Itachi rolled his eyes.

“Fine...” Shisui smiled.

“But no cheating!” Hanako added, looking specifically at Itachi who only nodded.

“Okay! Hanako, you’re _‘It’_.” Shisui bumped the girl’s shoulder and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“What?” Hanako looked around her surroundings, but found no one. She sighed. “Well, it looks like I don’t have a choice.” Since everyone was already hidden, she proceeded to seek. Suddenly, she felt a chakra on her back. When the brunette turned around she found Shisui staring at her and with his arms crossed and a serious face.

“You didn’t count. Now,  _that’s_ cheating.” He pointed at a tree trunk. “To one hundred.” Hanako only rolled her eyes and walked towards the tree to start counting.

“One, two, three…” She kept counting out loud until she reached one hundred. Then, she pushed herself away from the bark with a sheepish grin. “Ready or not, here I come!”

Just immediately, she heard a twig break close to her position and smirked. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on their chakra. For her surprise, there were more than two chakras in the woods. Hanako furrowed her brows. All the chakra she felt belonged to only one person _. ’Clones’?_ Hanako started walking to where she felt one of the chakras and found Itachi behind one of the trees.

“Found you!” The girl smirked but he just looked at her.

“Maybe,” now it was his turn to smirk as he made a seal with his hands. “Or maybe not.” He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Hanako clicked her tongue.  _’That cheater!’_

 

* * *

 

Shisui watched Hanako intently from the top of a tree, she had found one of Itachi’s clones.

_“Itachi,” Shisui called him softly, making sure Hanako wouldn’t hear them. She had counted up to fifty already, meaning they were running out of time._

_“Would you mind explaining why suddenly you wanted to play this?” Itachi inquired but Shisui only sighed._

_“There’s something I want to confirm,” Shisui looked at him with seriousness in his eyes, “but I need your help to do so.” Itachi raised an eyebrow._

_“Help you with what?” Shisui neared him cautiously, making sure the brunette wouldn’t hear them._

_“I want you to make as many clones as you can and hide them, well hidden, around the woods. She will look for them and I will observe her in the meantime.” Itachi frowned at that._

_“Why? If I’m allowed to know…” Shisui smirked, backing away._

_“You’ll see.”_

 

 

Until now, everything was going just as planned. Hanako walked towards another clone, which in part was too well hidden for her to be able to see it. Shisui activated his Sharingan to have a better perception of what was happening, and also know the location of all clones. Hanako walked past the clone, without showing any sign of having noticed it.

“She didn’t see it,” Shisui mumbled to himself with disappointment. Just as he finished his rant, Hanako came to a stop and kneeled down to pick up a pebble. She started to toss it up in the air, and catch it when it fell back into her hand, playing with it. Shisui frowned. What was Hanako doing? She suddenly threw the pebble in the clone’s direction and hit him right in its forehead. The clone disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The eldest Uchiha smirked. “No, she didn’t see it. She _sensed_ it.”

Itachi had made a total of ten clones, from which only remained eight. Shisui noticed that Hanako had walked away and he followed her closely, making sure she couldn’t notice him. She had found another clone.

“I’m getting tired of these clones of yours, you cheater,” Hanako said while her eyes faded into bloody red. Shisui widened his eyes. Hanako’s Sharingan was fully developed, with already three tomoes spread around her pupil. He had known that the girl was a genius in her abilities, but he never expected her to be almost at the level of an adult Uchiha. “With this, I can finally know which the real one is.” Hanako started to jump from branch to branch, looking for the real Itachi. She moved fast. Shisui hid behind a tree trunk just at the moment Hanako passed beside him, but she didn’t see him. The boy smirked, the game was just getting interesting.

 

* * *

 

Hanako felt another chakra following her, but decided to ignore it as she kept looking for Itachi. She found him laying against a tree trunk, but just to make sure she pinched his arm with her fingers. The boy disappeared into smoke. Hanako frowned.

“I’m getting tired of these clones of yours, you cheater,” Hanako growled as she activated her Sharingan. “With this, I can finally know which the real one is.”

Hanako started to move quickly among the trees, looking for the black haired boy. She stopped at the top of one trunk and closed her eyes to concentrate on her perceptions. _‘Seven… There are seven chakras around me, and they’re all the same. No wait, there’s one more. Different, though. Larger, warmer, closer…Shisui maybe?’_

Hanako turned around but didn’t find anything, she couldn’t feel his chakra anymore. He had disappeared.

 

* * *

 

Shisui tried to follow the girl as close as she could without being discovered. She had stopped abruptly, making him almost hit his head against one of the branches trying to stop. The male had managed to hide behind one of the trees in silence and sighed.

“That was close,” Shisui mumbled and perked his head out to look at the brunette. She was focusing hardly on something. From where he was, he couldn’t see any of Itachi’s clones, she was probably looking for them. _‘Maybe she really is…’_

Shisui’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a weird sensation in his body. His eyes widened, Hanako had sensed his chakra. He couldn’t let her find him, so he made a seal with his hands and disappeared without leaving any trace behind.

 

* * *

_‘Not bad, not bad at all,’_ Itachi thought. Hanako had already found three of his clones. Itachi was hiding really close to her, about barely 20 feet away from her position, but he wouldn’t lose to her. What is it that Shisui wanted to make sure? That question still lingered in his mind.

Right now, she was standing still over one of the tallest branches. She seemed to be trying to concentrate on something, and suddenly, she turned around as if she had noticed something. Hanako looked around her surroundings, as if she were cautiously analyzing them. The girl turned around and looked towards the spot where he was hiding. Itachi frowned, it couldn’t be possible she had noticed him, could it? He was hiding from her in a considerable distance, she couldn’t possibly catch a glimpse of him from where she was. Itachi tried to relax, convincing himself that she hadn’t seen him, but the smirk drawn on her face made him think otherwise.

“There you are,” Hanako muttered. Itachi was able to read her lips, and was finally convinced. He had to get out of there, but when he turned around she was already standing there with a smirk. She was looking down at him with a victorious smirk. Itachi’s eyes widened, she was fast. “You’re not a clone, are you?” Itachi frowned and rolled his eyes. Hanako pinched his cheek and he flinched; she laughed. “Found you!” she chanted victoriously, childishly sticking out her tongue.

“You’re still missing Shisui,” Itachi reminded her and she sighed.

“Right,” Hanako muttered in a low voice and turned around in a second. “Not for long, though,” and she left. In seconds, she had disappeared among the trees.

 

* * *

 

Shisui ran as fast as he could to lose Hanako from his tracks. Finally, when he was at a safe place, he relaxed while letting out a sigh. _‘Just as I expected, she’s a sensor type,’_ he thought. After a couple of seconds, he heard her snap:

“Found you!” Shisui laughed. All the clones Itachi had made suddenly disappeared. He was found. Shisui’s lips curved up into a knowing smile. He must’ve underestimated her, although he knows Itachi is not one to underestimate other ninjas. He probably went easy on Hanako on purpose. Shisui, on the other hand, wouldn’t let himself get caught so easily, he was having his fun.

Shisui caught a glimpse of the brunette running through the trees very close to him. Luckily, she still hadn’t seen him. The boy jumped far away, trying his best to conceal his chakra. _‘This is getting interesting, really interesting…’_

 

* * *

 

Hanako ran through the woods, looking for the sixteen-year-old teen. She couldn’t find him anywhere. Hanako sighed and stopped in one of the branches, she looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. Somehow, she had to make him let his guard down, but how? He was probably using his Sharingan as well, and that only made things more complicated.

Hanako opened her eyes, still looking up at sky. She observed the clouds move in their never ending path, what could she do now?

Suddenly, an idea came rushing to her mind.

_“Just one word,” Shisui sighed. “Genjutsu.” Hanako’s eyes widened._

Hanako smirked as she sought among her clothes for a kunai her father always taught her to carry in case of an emergency. When she found it, she closed her eyes once again, trying to concentrate in sensing the chakra around her. She felt a familiar chakra. _‘No, that’s Itachi,’_ she thought. _‘Shisui’s chakra is much warmer and larger.’_ Hanako kept on looking, until she finally found him around a mile away. Hanako opened her eyes with her Sharingan activated and started to head his way. She caught up to him in minutes, and close enough she threw her kunai. She was fixed in winning.

 

* * *

 

Shisui watched as Hanako was coming closer to him in a quick pace with a kunai in her hand. Suddenly, she threw the weapon towards him, but it hit in the trunk beside him. Shisui looked at the knife. _’Did she miss?’_ he thought to himself, but changed his mind the moment he saw the reflection in the kunai. Those were Hanako’s eyes and her smirk which suddenly vanished. _‘No she didn’t, it was a Genjutsu.’_ Shisui reprimanded himself for not noticing earlier, but quickly undid it.

“Release,” he said, and suddenly felt a familiar presence behind him.

“Found you, Shisui-san.” The Uchiha turned around. There she was, smiling like an innocent girl. “I win,” Hanako said with a victorious smirk, making Shisui look down. The kunai was in her hand, and she was playing with it. She fooled him, she had definitely won.

 

 

The game had ended minutes ago, and still Shisui couldn’t stop staring at the girl and her victorious grin. It was just a normal illusion, just a normal, basic, Genjutsu.

 “How did you do that?” he finally asked. Hanako looked at him with a smirk, as if she had been expecting his question.

 “I caught you at the moment you saw me running towards you. I remembered what Itachi had said about you being able to control people without them realizing it, so I thought it must be something realistic. Like an alternative.”

Shisui couldn’t process it, “But I had the Sharingan! How…?” he continued asking. Hanako was only ten years old, a brat. And she outdid him.

 “I can see your chakra levels,” she said calmly. “Even the continuous use of the Sharingan consumes chakra. After you said the jutsu you used with Danzo wore you out, I noticed that your chakra level was lower than usual. The lower your chakra, the slower your perception and your reflexes, am I wrong?” Shisui’s jaw dropped slightly. For a Genin, Hanako was very smart and observant. She analyzed her opponent very thoroughly before acting against it. At her age, she was more experienced than regular Chunnin. “The illusion was faster than you, enough to distract you for a few seconds. My goal was to slow you down so I could get to you, not to trap you.”

 “And what was the kunai for?” Shisui raised an eyebrow when Hanako suddenly chuckled.

 “What is this? Twenty Questions?”

“It is if you want it to be. This isn’t an interrogation, you know…” Shisui snapped back at her, using her exact same words.

“That’s my line,” Hanako grinned. “The kunai was a distraction. Actually, I never got to throw it. That’s what I meant by an _alternative_. Once I had the kunai in my hand, there were two options: throwing it or not throwing it. I didn’t throw it, but with a Genjutsu, I made you believe that I did. That way I made you see something that didn’t happen but could have happened. Not everything that happens in an illusion goes the same way in reality.”

 “Shisui,” Itachi finally spoke, after remaining quiet for a while. “She won. Game over,” he said, making Shisui click his tongue. “Now, will you tell me what was it that you wanted to confirm?” Shisui scoffed and looked at him with a smirk.

 “You should have realized it by now, Itachi…” Shisui expected to see some kind of emotion in him, but the boy only remained expressionless. ‘ _He still didn’t get it, huh_?’ Shisui turned to look at Hanako. “The way you looked for Itachi, for his clones, or even me, is not a very common way among Genin like you unless they possess some kind of special ability.” Hanako looked back at him confused. “Tell me Hanako, how did you do it?” The girl looked down at the ground, pondering the words to explain somehow what she had done.

 “I can feel your chakra,” she finally admitted. “If I couldn’t see you, then I would feel your chakra… But I never thought of it as a special ability…” Itachi widened his eyes, while Shisui only nodded in satisfaction at her answer.

 “So, you are a sensor,” he muttered. “It’s actually the first time I see one from the Uchiha Clan.”

“A sensor?” Hanako frowned.

 “You should know that everyone’s chakra is different, and as a sensor you should be able to tell that difference,” Shisui explained and Hanako nodded. “Close your eyes,” he instructed and Hanako complied. He then walked to Itachi’s opposite side. “Without opening your eyes, I want you to tell me where I am, and where Itachi is.”

“Easy, you’re behind me and Itachi is in front of me.”

“And how do you know who’s who?”

“You’re talking. Itachi is mute.”

Shisui sighed softly and pointed Itachi to move as silently as he could. The boy moved to stand beside Shisui, without making a sound. “So, you’re just guessing because you heard my voice.”

“Itachi’s now beside you.”

Both Uchiha looked at each other. Now both silent, they moved again to stand on either side of her. Hanako turned her head at both of them, but her eyes were still closed. “Itachi,” she pointed at the boy on her left. “Shisui,” then she pointed at the guy on her right. “How long are we going to do this? I know who’s who.”

“What is the difference between us?” Shisui asked. Hanako opened her eyes to look at him.

“Your chakra is big and active, while Itachi’s is small and calm. Although, it could be due to your age.” She shrugged.

“Any other difference?” Shisui taunted.

“Well, now that I think about it, yeah. There is another difference.” Hanako narrowed her eyes, while looking at the ground. “For some reason, your chakra is warmer than the average. I’ve never felt a chakra this warm before.” She activated her Sharingan and looked at him intently... “And, if I compare it to mine or to Itachi’s, it has a different color. It’s like an aqua green... Maybe it has something to do. You have an interesting chakra, Shisui.”

“Wow, I’m flattered,” Shisui said with a smile. “That difference you find in everyone’s chakra is what makes them unique, that’s their chakra signature.”

“Like a fingerprint?” Hanako inquired.

“Some ninjas are born, as you may say, more sensitive than others. In a certain degree, everyone can feel chakra, but only when it’s massive. For example, in a battle between two powerful Shinobi, they can feel the chakra surrounding the two people ready to fight. But they feel it just like a great tension in the air. When someone is sensitive enough, who is called a sensor, they just don’t feel the chakra in the air. They feel it like a great cloud of smoke so dense that’s almost asphyxiating. They can also feel it, flowing through each of the Shinobi’s bodies. And they can also sense it from a great distance. On how well developed the sensor becomes, depends on how sensitive they are. But most of them realize their sensitivity in their early years as a ninja. Most do as Genin when they’re twelve, maybe thirteen years old. Hanako, you found it when you were ten or even younger, which means you’re pretty sensitive. If you work on developing your sensor abilities from now, you can get to a point where you can even use it in battle.”

“You sure I can do that?” she asked as she watched her hands. “I thought it was something useful only when tracking other people.”

“Don’t be so negative when you haven’t even tried it,” Shisui smiled at her. “You’re a sensor type Hanako, I’m sure you can do it.” Hanako smiled back at him and nodded. “However, what Itachi said it’s really true. You’re the first sensor I’ve seen in the Uchiha. It’s certainly rare, but I don’t think you’re the only one,” he added. “You must’ve inherited it from somewhere. A gene like that doesn’t mutate out of the blue.”

“Who else could be a sensor without us knowing it?” Itachi inquired.

“I don’t know.” Shisui shrugged. “We’ll have to ask your father. Fugaku-san has information on every member of the clan. If there’s another sensor like Hanako, he should know it.”

“You’re talking as if I weren’t here.” The two boys heard the girl and turned to look back at her. “Probably the funeral should’ve ended by now. Shouldn’t we go back?”

“Yes. Come on, let’s go.” They started walking back to the village.


	13. Do You Believe in Reincarnation?

_The three Uchihas_ walked silently along the streets when, suddenly, a series of quick and short steps could be heard nearing them from behind. Hanako turned around slightly at the moment someone threw themselves over her. The next thing she knew: she was lying on the ground with two people on top of her.

 “Hanako!” Two voices spoke in unison, but Hanako was able to recognize them.

 “Kazuki! Takeshi!” She tried getting up, but both boys were suffocating her with their hugs.

 “You’re alive! You have no idea how worried we were!” Takeshi yelled loudly while holding the girl even tighter. Kazuki let go immediately when he noticed Hanako was having trouble to breathe. He looked up to find two other Uchiha staring back at him. He gulped and looked away in embarrassment. “Why didn’t you tell us you were back?! It had been so long since you went away…”

 “Takeshi…” Hanako tried to say with the little breath she had in her lungs, but the boy only continued to speak as if he hadn’t heard her.

“We were going to ask the Hokage to send someone to look for you…” Shisui rolled his eyes. Sometimes Takeshi was a nuisance. He then seemed to remember something, and looked at Itachi with a mocking grin. The boy was only staring at Takeshi with a serious expression. Shisui scoffed, so much for pretending not to be jealous.

“Takeshi…can’t breathe…” Hanako tried again, but again she was bluntly ignored. Kazuki was also growing impatient.

“I’m so glad to see you here—”

“TAKESHI.” Kazuki said loudly, making him go silent. He finally released Hanako from the tight hug. “She looks fine, stop bugging her.” Hanako coughed slightly, but then smiled at Takeshi reassuringly. The boy had tears in his eyes, and she almost felt bad for not telling him anything. She had been back days ago, but she couldn’t talk to anyone, not even her best friend.

“Hanako…” When she heard her name being called, she turned around. She had almost forgotten Itachi and Shisui were still there, waiting for her. Takeshi hadn’t noted their presence, but when he did, he stared at them suspiciously; especially at Itachi, his eyes would almost burst into fire glaring at him. Kazuki tried to ignore their presence, staring at the ground. “You can stay with them if you want…” Shisui finally said, narrowing his eyes at Takeshi’s attitude towards Itachi. Like he felt he was a threat. He smirked. Maybe he already suspected of his crush, even if Itachi still denied it. “I’ll let your mother know where you are.”

Hanako nodded, watching Shisui and Itachi head back to the Uchiha Compound.

When they were finally gone, Kazuki looked up and muttered softly. “Hey…who were they?”

“Itachi and Shisui,” Hanako looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “From the Clan.” She then smirked. “Were you intimidated by them Kazuki?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Since when do you know them?” Takeshi added to the question.

“Well, you guys know Itachi…” she shrugged. “He was in our generation in the Academy. Shisui has been a friend of the family for a while, he went with my sister to the Academy and became very close friends. He’s always at my place when he’s out of duty.” Hanako scratched her chin in a thoughtful stance. “Though, I found out today Itachi and Shisui were friends. What a coincidence…”

“Tsk…” Takeshi rolled his eyes. “Now what… he’ll bring Itachi to crash at your place often too?”

“Why? Are you jealous?” Hanako asked with a smirk.

“No!” Takeshi snapped.

“Hanako…why are you wearing a black yukata? Isn’t it too hot for that?” Kazuki asked, eyeing her clothing.

Hanako looked at herself and sighed. “Right…it was for a funeral I had to go to…”

“Funeral?” Takeshi asked. “Who died?”

Hanako felt a knot in her throat, but pushing her thoughts aside she gathered the courage to look up at them. “My father.”

They both froze in place, not knowing what to do. “Your…father?” Kazuki asked softly, afraid he had misunderstood something.

“Yeah…he died in the mission…” Hanako bit he lip, her eyes were drawn back to the ground. “There was nothing I could do to stop it…I could only watch…” Takeshi put a hand on her shoulder.

“You did everything you could,” he said. “Things happen for a reason, don’t they?” Hanako bit back her tears and nodded.

“I know. Thanks, Takeshi…”

“You should start calling me Takeshi-kun…” He smirked at her, changing the subject to lighten up the mood.

“Not in a million years, idiot-kun.” Hanako smirked back.

“I bet she’ll call Itachi ‘-kun’ before any of us,” Kazuki said.

“What did you say, Kazuki-kun?” Hanako blinked at him. “You know if I were to choose any of you for a boyfriend, I would definitely pick Kazuki-kun.”

“Where does that come from?!” Takeshi snapped at her.

“Because I like seeing you all worked up towards the subject,” Hanako laughed. “Calm down, it was a joke.”

Takeshi sighed. “Seriously Hana-chan, sometimes your games confuse me.”

Hanako hit him in the head. “I told you to stop calling me that.”

 

* * *

 

Itachi and Shisui walked towards the Police Force main building, where they knew Fugaku should be right now. When they walked in, they came across several familiar clan members.

“Hey, look who we have here!” Tekka greeted them.

“Tekka-san,” Shisui greeted him with a respectful bow. Itachi mimicked him.

“Shisui!” Tekka punched his arm playfully. “I told you to stop being so polite towards me. We’re friends, bud! When are you finally going to join us?” Shisui chuckled.

“Soon, hopefully…”

“Where’s my father?” Itachi asked, interrupting their chat.

“Um…” Tekka instantly became serious. “He should be in his office, as always. You know where that is.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Itachi nodded respectfully before heading in its direction.

“Thanks, Tekka-san.” Shisui nodded too before following the younger Uchiha. They reached a wooden door, it was locked. Itachi knocked.

The door was opened by a tall man. “Itachi, Shisui, what are you doing here?” Fugaku frowned. “And why didn’t you go to the funeral?”

“Um…well…” Shisui scratched the back of his neck. Fugaku’s glare could be terrifying, but it didn’t work on them as much as it worked on others.

“We weren’t the only ones who skipped it…” Itachi said softly, trying to defend themselves.

“You were with Hanako?!” Fugaku’s glare intensified as he activated his Sharingan. “Do you know how embarrassing was for her family when I presented them and she wasn’t there?!”

“We were with her…” Shisui nodded calmly. “And we are deeply sorry Fugaku-sama. But that’s not why we’re here.” Fugaku raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain. “We need your help. It is certainly something of great interest for the Clan.”

“Of great interest?” Fugaku opened the door and moved away, letting Shisui and Itachi into the room.

“Tell me, Fugaku-sama. Do you know anything about her chakra?” Shisui asked.

“Yes, I do. I trained her for the last couple of years. Why?” Fugaku watched Shisui as he eyed all the posters on the wall. Most of them were civilian criminals who were causing too much trouble in the village.

“Did you know she has a full developed Sharingan? She fooled me with a surprisingly basic Genjutsu.”

“Yes, I do.”

Shisui looked down, pressing his lips tightly. Of course the leader would know that.

“Did you know she’s a sensor as well?” That seemed to spark Fugaku’s interest. He looked at his son for some kind of confirmation.

“It’s true,” Itachi said. Fugaku looked back at Shisui.

“What do you want, Shisui?”

“I only want to know if there is another sensor within the clan. You know, it’s kind of rare.”

“It’s rare for Uchihas to be sensors now,” Fugaku nodded. “But not before.”

Shisui frowned. “What does that have to do with what I’m asking?”

“When it comes to Hanako, it has everything to do,” Fugaku said. “There was a time when being a sensor was a must. Before villages existed, going out of clan territory meant probably not coming back. War invaded every corner of the planet, so everyone had to be trained not only for the front lines but for the effect of survival.” Fugaku walked towards an archive behind his desk, and looked for Hanako’s information file, but he also pulled out another file.

He opened Hanako’s on his desk in front of the boys. She seemed to be a normal girl with above average stats for her age. Shisui looked up at the leader. That was Hanako’s entire information, and he was telling them. “What is the meaning of this?” Shisui asked with a frown.

“Do you believe in reincarnation, Shisui?” Fugaku asked. The teenager frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No.”

“Then you might. What I’m about to show you, doesn’t get out of here, understood?” He looked intently at both boys. The both nodded solemnly. Fugaku sighed and placed the second file on the desk, beside Hanako’s. When he opened it, Shisui gasped while Itachi’s eyes widened. The woman was an exact copy of Hanako, but in an older version. “This is Amane Uchiha.” Shisui noticed that Amane’s stats were almost that same as Hanako’s when it came to basics, but Amane had a lot more knowledge and experience in other categories. “Hanako will eventually surpass these stats, but Amane’s stats aren’t even complete. She died in the time of the First Hokage, and these files were made almost half a century later. The picture is just a cut out from Hashirama-sama’s personal photos.”

“Wait a minute,” Shisui took a deep breath, pointing at both pictures. “Are you telling me that these two are the same person?” Fugaku looked seriously at Shisui.

“Yes, Shisui. At least, that’s what we believe.”

“And who’s reincarnation am I then?! Because I’m not a sensor!” Fugaku shook his head.

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“Then how?!”

“That’s a mystery I want to solve as well. You came here asking for help, now I am the one asking you, Shisui, Itachi.” Fugaku closed Amane’s file and gave it to Shisui. “If you can, solve it for me. Like you said, it _is_ of great interest for the Clan.”

Shisui took the file and nodded. “Guess we could start training with Hanako,” he commented with a small smirk, eyeing Itachi from the tip of his eye. Fugaku noticed and stared at Shisui.

“Why are you looking at my son like that?” Itachi looked at Shisui, at the same time he shrugged.

“Ask him.” Shisui smiled. Fugaku frowned. Itachi looked at Shisui then at his father. The teenager placed the closed file beside his face, covering himself from Itachi. Then he neared the leader and muttered softly, “I think your son has a crush.”

Fugaku widened his eyes and looked at Itachi. Then, he looked back at Shisui, asking a silent question, ‘Are you sure?’ to which Shisui only winked. Itachi frowned, not knowing what was happening.

“Anyway, we should get going,” Shisui bowed before walking out of the room. Itachi bowed too and followed Shisui.

“What happened in there?” Itachi asked when he caught up with the older Uchiha.

“Just an inside joke I have with Fugaku-sama.”

“Can you tell me?” Itachi asked.

“Do you even understand the concept of ‘inside jokes’, Itachi?” Itachi sighed.

“I’m sorry…”

Shisui laughed. “Why are you apologizing?” He patted his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

Kaito decided to take a walk, thinking about the approaching Chunnin Exams. The Hokage had asked every tutor to think about recommending their students for the exam, and to make it official in that evening’s meeting. Kaito thought a lot about it. His students were rookies, only ten-year-old brats. Even if they had three years of experience as Genin, he couldn’t recommend them, they weren’t ready.

The Jounin entered a dango store he saw from the tip of his eye, and saw Anko Mitarashi sitting at one of the tables. She was eating a big combo of dango. Kaito smiled to himself, remembering about her addiction, and walked towards her.

“Enjoying your dango, Anko?” Kaito sat across from her at the table.

“They’re my favorite,” she said, taking her last stick. “Wanna order some?” Kaito could swear he saw sparkles in her eyes.

“No, I’m not hungry.” He frowned slightly. “And if you keep eating like that, you’ll be fat in a couple of years.”

“Shut up,” Anko waved her hand at him. “Anyway, tell me Kaito, are you recommending your brats for the Chunnin Exams?”

“As friendly as always, Anko…” Kaito said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. “I haven’t thought enough about it. I think they’re still too young to take the risk,” he said while staring at the entrance of the store. He noticed two Uchiha boys who just entered, and watched them intently until they took a seat near them.

“Who are your students?” Anko suddenly asked as she ordered more dango.

“Kazuki Mitokado, Takeshi Komatsu and Hanako Uchiha.” Anko started to cough violently as the dumpling got stuck in her throat.

“So, you’re _that_ brat’s sensei…” she muttered when she stopped her fit.

“Yeah, what if I am?” Kaito raised an eyebrow at her.

“The Hokage didn’t tell you about the mission?” she looked at the Jounin incredulously.

“What mission?” Kaito inquired. Anko suddenly looked at their surroundings, eyeing specially the two Uchiha boys. Then she muttered softly, so only Kaito could hear.

“The Hokage showed me the report of a mission; however this is classified information that for nothing in the world can be revealed.” She paused for a moment. “Your little student Hanako Uchiha escaped to go to a mission with her father and another two Jounin. It was a B-rank mission, but they were ambushed during it by an entire division of Iwagakure and Kusagakure Shinobi. That mission became an A-rank, obviously.

“Unfortunately, all the Jounin —including her father— died. But somehow, that kid managed to survive, completing the mission. And besides that, she reduced a whole town down to ashes, killing all of the ninja and peasants.” Kaito widened his eyes at her words.

“She couldn’t have done that…” he muttered, more to himself than to his companion.

“Well, she did.” Anko looked at him playfully. “She’s definitely an Uchiha to the bone. She’ll make it to the elite in no time,” she said as she finished the last of her dango. “I have to go, see you later…” She stood and walked out of the store. After a few moments, the waitress came to the table.

“Are you ready to ask for the bill, sir?” Kaito’s eyes widened. Cursing under his breath at Anko, he pulled out his wallet.

 

* * *

 

The two Uchiha were walking along the Konoha streets after leaving the Police Force building.

“What are you thinking now, Shisui?” Itachi asked tiredly.

“We need to convince Hanako’s sensei to recommend her and her group for the Chunnin Exams.” He sighed. “Then we will have an excuse for training with her. However, it would be a lot of help to at least know who we’re looking for.” Shisui started to look around until he found the dango shop. “Hey, look Itachi!” He pointed to the store, Itachi followed his hand and looked at the store with a raised eyebrow.

“You want dango?”

“Come on, we both know you love them. Why don’t we go for some while we think about what we’re going to do to find this sensei? Maybe we could go afterwards, and ask the Third about him.”

“Why don’t we go now? I’m not hungry.” Itachi sighed.      

“Come on Itachi, don’t be like that.” Shisui dragged him into the shop. When they entered, they heard two Jounin talking.

“Who are your students?” a purple haired Kunoichi, who Shisui recognized as Anko Mitarashi, asked.

“Kazuki Mitokado, Takeshi Komatsu and Hanako Uchiha.” Both Uchiha immediately reacted at the last name mentioned. They found the table next to the Jounin empty, and decided to sit there so they could listen to their conversation.

“So, you’re that brat’s sensei.” Anko said after coughing out her dango.

“Yeah, what if I am?” Kaito asked.

“The Hokage didn’t tell you about the mission?” She looked at him incredulously.

“What mission?” Shisui and Itachi pretended not to care about their table neighbors when they found themselves under Anko’s intent glare. Then they heard muttering and decided not to pay attention to the following.

“Then, this is him?” Itachi asked Shisui.

“Yeah, don’t let him out of your sight.” The other one nodded and once again they focused their ears on their table.    

“She did.” They heard Anko speaking once again. “She’s definitely an Uchiha to the bone; she’ll make it to the elite in no time… I have to go, see you later.”

Itachi and Shisui looked at each other. “We have to follow him,” Shisui said and the other one nodded. They waited until Kaito left the shop to go after him.

 

 

They followed him as he walked through the streets, while they went hiding in the trees and bushes.

“I know this guy,” Shisui commented as he hid behind one of the trees.

“You do?” Itachi raised an eyebrow at his companion.

“He’s Kaito Hayata, a Jounin who was once recommended for the ANBU.” Shisui explained. “However, he rejected the recommendation saying he wasn’t fit for the job.”

“And is he?” Itachi asked.

“Definitely.”

They both followed Kaito until he suddenly came to a halt. “I know you’ve been following me for a while, now,” he said. “Show yourselves.” The Jounin turned to look at the two Uchiha as they both came out of the bushes.

“He’s good…” Itachi mumbled. Kaito raised an eyebrow.

“Two Uchiha brats, huh?” He eyed them curiously. “What do you want?”

“I want to make a deal.” Shisui said nearing him.

“A deal?” Kaito looked at him suspiciously.

“Yes…We couldn’t help but hear the conversation you just had with Anko-san. I wanted to ask you if you’re sure about not recommending your students for the Chunnin Exams.”

“They’re still too young,” he said curtly. “Maybe in a couple of years.”

 ”But…” Shisui added. “Don’t you think that with the appropriate training they could participate?”

“I’m their sensei; I think I know very well their capabilities for an appropriate training.” Kaito frowned. “Where do you want to get with this, Shisui?”

“So, you know me.” The aforementioned smirked.

“Of course I know you _, Shunshin no Shisui_.” Kaito narrowed his eyes. “I said, what do you want?” 

“I want your team to participate in the exams.” Shisui spoke seriously.

“I don’t have time to train the three of them for this, maybe next time.” He said as he started to walk away.

“Please.” Shisui called to him, making him stop. “I’ll take care of the Uchiha. You can focus on the other two.” Kaito looked at him.

“Of course, this is what it’s about… Hanako.” Kaito smirked. “Your clan just can’t miss the chance to put your kids to fight, can you?”

“Well,” Shisui shrugged. “My leader gave me an order. I’m just asking kindly though. If you don’t want to recommend your students, I’m sure we can figure something out. Although Fugaku-sama might not like it very much.”

“Shisui…” Itachi tried to stop his friend, but Shisui lift his hand to stop him. He looked at Itachi and smiled, silently saying ‘I can handle this.’

Kaito pressed his lips tightly, looking at him with deadly eyes. He finally sighed and shook his head. “Will you take care of her?” he asked.

“Of course. She’ll be stronger for the exams, at least for the second test and for the finals.” Shisui was too determined. “I promise.”

“You sure about this?”

“You don’t know how much potential she truly has,” Shisui said with a smirk. “She needs someone from the clan to train her. That way she’ll learn how to use her Sharingan properly and some fire jutsus...” Shisui waited expectantly while Kaito just remained silent for a while.

“Fine, I’ll recommend them.” He sighed. “But if something happens to them, you’ll regret it,” he said threateningly

“You worry too much.” Shisui smirked.

“There will be a meeting for Jounin and Chunnin this evening. There, the Genin will be nominated and the proctors will be selected, in case you didn’t know.” Kaito added.

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“In that case, I’ll see you there,” Kaito said before leaving and continuing his path.

“Yeah…” Shisui turned to his companion, Itachi looked back at him confused. “We should start with the training; the exam begins in a week.” Itachi nodded and they both left, looking for the brunette and her team.

 

* * *

 

“Aw!” Kazuki exclaimed, “Takeshi’s jealous!” he said nudging his teammate.

“Jealous?” Hanako raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not jealous!” the brown haired boy defended himself while blushing.

“Oh, you’re not?” Kazuki inquired while raising an eyebrow playfully. “Then you wouldn’t mind if Hanako really had a boyfriend, would you?” Hanako looked at him questioningly.

“No, of course not.” Takeshi looked away.

“You’re such a liar!” Kazuki pointed at him.

“What did I say about pointing at me?!” Takeshi snapped.

“Stop it!” Hanako sighed. “Don’t waste your time on stupid arguments.” She closed her eyes tiredly.

“Hm?” Kazuki looked at her. “And what would you rather do, Uchiha?” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Train,” she said, starting to walk away towards the training grounds. “It’s more productive than watching you guys argue all day.”

“Do you have any problem?” She halted.

“Yeah. If you have so much time to argue with each other, you could at least well spend it in training to become strong!”

“Are you telling us that we’re weak?!” Kazuki inquired loudly.

“I’m not saying that…” she muttered. “But you’re not that strong either.”

“Do you want to fight?!” Kazuki asked angry.

“You against me?” She chuckled. “I would kick your ass.”

“Don’t get so cocky,” Kazuki replied. She turned around to face him. “I don’t care if it is said that the Uchiha are elites, that doesn’t give you the right to believe yourself better than us!” The black haired boy was getting infuriated.

“It does give me the right.” She said calmly. “Because I  _am_ better than you.” That was the last drop to fill the glass.               

“What did you say?!” he inquired.

“Are you deaf?” She smirked. Kazuki tried to launch himself over her but was stopped by Takeshi.

“Kazuki, control yourself!” He had both his arms surrounding him.

“I want to fight with you.” Kazuki said. Hanako raised her eyebrow. “I will show you that I’m not weak, I’ll show you that you’re not above me!” He freed himself from Takeshi’s grasp without taking his eyes off from the girl. “And I want you to use your eyes! Show me what the Uchiha are capable of!” Hanako smirked.

“That won’t be necessary,” she said surprising both guys. “I can beat you without the Sharingan.” She started to walk away again until something grabbed her arm and pulled her back with enough force to throw her at the ground. Kazuki grabbed her from the neck of her shirt, and looked at her with rage as he pulled her up.

“Stop underestimating us,” he said. “Or is it that you’re afraid?” he inquired mockingly. She narrowed her eyes and swiftly kicked her teammate on his stomach, hard enough for him to let go of her. He gasped for air as he looked at her menacingly.

“You wanna fight?” She snapped finally giving in to her anger. “Fine, I’ll fight you but not here.” She stood up and walked again towards the training grounds. “Follow me.”

Both guys followed her, Kazuki to have his fight in spite of the pain on his belly, and Takeshi to interfere if it was necessary…and possible.     


	14. Match in the Training Grounds

_In the training_ grounds, Takeshi sat under the shadow of a tree while Kazuki and Hanako stood face to face and performed the Seal of Confrontation that was taught to them in the Academy. Kazuki pulled out a kunai from his pouch and threw it towards the brunette while jumping back. Hanako pulled out her own kunai and used it to stop the coming knife and catch it in mid-air, having both weapons on her hands. Kazuki hid in the trees while trying to think of a plan. Hanako only smirked when she noticed his intentions; she knew that he didn’t know the full extent of her abilities. She let the two kunais fall to the ground and made the seals for a fire technique. A fire barrage came out of her mouth towards the tree where her teammate was hiding. He was surprised by the upcoming attack and tried to evade it by jumping far away, although the fire was faster and got him. Hanako smirked, but it was erased immediately when she noticed something strange. The boy lying on the ground had disappeared and in his place was a burnt log.

“Tsk! Not bad...” Hanako concentrated on her surroundings but she almost didn’t notice the shuriken moving fast towards her. She jumped to a high branch looking for the raven haired boy. “I know you’re around here!” she shouted. “Why don’t you come out, Kazuki? Are you afraid?” She chuckled softly until she noticed the boy jumping through the trees and suddenly landing in the middle of the river, managing to maintain his balance.  _’He can also walk on water?!’_ Her surprise immediately fumed away when she noticed he was making hand seals.   

 _“Suiton: Mizurappa.”_ Water came out of his mouth with a great force towards Hanako.  _’What?! Water Style? I can’t counter that with fire...’_ She crossed her arms in front of her in defense of the upcoming attack. She was dragged by the water until she collided against a trunk. She coughed the bit of water that got into her lungs while she got up, all soaked by the water. When she looked up, she was met by Kazuki’s amused expression.

“Water is your weakness, huh?” Hanako frowned. “It’s over. My water will kill your fire, Uchiha.”

“No.” She smirked. “Not if my fire evaporates your water first, Kazuki.” She threatened. Hanako didn’t expect him to be able to use water, but now that she knew that, she wouldn’t let her guard down.

“Why don’t you use your Sharingan?” Kazuki inquired. “So much pride you have to show it?”

“No. If you want that much to see it...” She closed her eyes. “Then I shall accomplish your wish.” She opened her eyes, they turned as red as blood and her black pupil was surrounded by three black tomoes. Maybe Kazuki was better than her in Taijutsu and probably also Ninjutsu, but he couldn’t compare to her in Genjutsu. The moment the black haired boy looked at her in the eyes, he was already in it. She smirked evilly. Kazuki noticed amazed that the tomoes started to spin around her pupil, slowly then faster. 

The boy woke up from his trance when he heard the crunch of a twig behind him. He turned around but there was nothing. Confused, he turned to look back at the girl to find that she was gone.

“Hanako?” he asked loudly. “Are you there?”

“What’s the matter, Kazuki?” He heard her voice as an echo through the woods. “Don’t you see I’m right here?” This time it was a murmur in his ear. She immediately turned around to find her standing right behind him with a smirk. He could notice that her eyes were back to the accustomed black.

“You deactivated your Sharingan.” He pulled out a kunai and got into a defensive stance. Hanako chuckled.

“Maybe...” Her body started to vanish. “Or maybe not.” Her voice sounded again as an echo as she disappeared into thin air.  

“What the hell?!” Kazuki started looking desperately for her teammate.

“Look out,” Hanako warned him, still hidden in the shadows. A group of kunai attacked Kazuki from his back. He managed to dodge some, but one got stuck in his leg making him fall to his knees in pain.

“Ah...” He pulled the knife from his thigh, letting a bit of blood drip from the wound.

“Careful, Kazuki.” Hanako’s calm voice spoke again. The sky got dark and started to thunder.

“A storm?” Kazuki looked up. Around him started to fall raindrops that nailed on the ground. He suddenly widened his eyes.  _’That’s not water,’_ he thought.  _’Needles?!’_

From the sky started to rain hundreds of fine silver needles with the same force of the raindrops. Kazuki covered himself trying not to think of what was coming, but his mind couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming needles. A second later, his agonizing screams could be heard throughout the woods.

“Kazuki.” He heard Hanako’s voice again, this time more demanding. “Wake up.” He opened his eyes to find Hanako’s black orbs looking intently at him. He was on the ground on a fetal position as if covering himself from something. The girl was kneeling beside him with a regretful look; Takeshi was standing beside her, looking down at him worriedly.

“Your screams really scared the shit out of me, bro.” He sighed. “I thought that something had really happened to you.”

“What?” The black haired boy looked at himself and noticed that he didn’t have a single scratch on him. “What happened?” he asked totally confused.

“I caught you in a Genjutsu,” Hanako said. “I’m sorry, I think I overdid it a bit.” She looked away.

“When...?”

“From the moment you looked into my Sharingan.” She stood up, helping him up as well.  He looked at her surprised.

“I had no idea that you could cast an illusion like that. So...real.” He shivered. “But the needle rain was really cruel!” he claimed making Hanako chuckle.

Hanako suddenly felt a presence and her muscles tensed. He grin was wiped off her face.

 “What’s wrong, Hanako?” Takeshi asked when he noticed her strange behavior.

“We’re being watched,” she said in a whisper while she turned to look back at the trees behind them. “Come out,” she called to the air. “Stop hiding, I know you’re there.”

Three people, all near their age, came out walking confidently. All of their headbands identified them as Konoha Shinobi.

“Look who we’ve got here.” A boy with blond hair spoke. “Hanako Uchiha and her minions,” he said now looking at Hanako, who narrowed her eyes glaring at the three.

“Kaichi Kazeyama?” Kazuki inquired suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”

This time, a boy with blue hair replied. “We were just training close by when we heard screaming. We ran here to see what had happened, but found out that it was just you guys playing ninja.” It was Ren Sonoda, Kaichi’s teammate.

“Excuse me, who are you?” Hanako raised an eyebrow, looking at them. “What makes you think you can talk to us so casually?”

“Wow, just because you were from class 1-1 you believe yourselves better than us?” Kaichi interjected, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Hanako rolled her eyes. “We graduated three years ago, how am I supposed to remember that? I ask you because I honestly don’t know who you are.”

“You hurt my feelings Hanako,” Kaichi shook his head. “We played ball together on our first day in the Academy, remember? Izumi brought you to the group; you were in my team!”

Hanako only stared at him. “Number two?” she suddenly asked.

Kaichi grew serious. “That’s what you remember?” Hanako smirked and shrugged.

The girl that was also with them turned to look at Kaichi. “Number two, what’s that?” she asked. Her name was Hyori, a transfer Genin from Kumogakure.

Kaichi sighed. “Izumi and her girlfriends had a list of the cutest boys in the generation. I was number two.” Hyori raised her eyebrows.

“Wow, pretty cute, huh?” she smirked at him. Kaichi scoffed, looking away. “Who was number one?”

“Let me guess,” Takeshi spoke, adding to the conversation. “Itachi fucking Uchiha…” he rolled his eyes. Kaichi did too.

“What isn’t he number one in?”

Hyori looked at Kaichi once again and laughed. “You don’t seem to like him very much…” she commented.

“Because I don’t,” he shrugged. “Ren doesn’t either, but he doesn’t brag about it.” The boy next to him scoffed. “By the way, where are your headbands?” Kaichi suddenly asked, looking at all of them. “Aren’t we supposed to wear them always?”

“Not if we’re off duty,” Kazuki shrugged.

“And why are you dressed like that?” Kaichi looked at Hanako.

Hanako rolled her eyes. “Funeral,” she replied curtly. Kaichi understood that she wouldn’t answer any more questions on the subject.

“Tsk,” Kaichi scoffed. “Moody.”

 Hanako glared at him. “Do you have a problem?”

Kaichi laughed. “What? Snappy too? How about you are a little bit nicer?”

“To you?” Hanako raised her eyebrow. “Fuck off, loser.”

“What did you just say?!” Kaichi was about to run at her, but Ren wrapped his arms around him.

“Hey, Kaichi! Shrug it off, she’s not worth it!”

“And who are you to say that?!” Hanako clenched her fists, glaring daggers at the boy.

Hyori suddenly stood between Hanako and the boys. “And who are _you_ to say that?” she smirked at her. Hanako widened her eyes and tensed. This girl was standing up to her? No one ever did that.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Hanako hissed dangerously. 

“I’m sorry, am I speaking to the queen of this realm?” Hyori tilted her head sideways, her smile never faltering. “Have I crossed dangerous boundaries?” Hanako narrowed her eyes. “Hyori Senju,” she introduced herself. “At your service, _queen._ ”

Hanako frowned at the name. She couldn’t explain the sudden hate that surged through her at the mention of her family name. Why? She didn’t even know the girl in front of her. She hadn’t even heard her family name before, then why did she hate it so much?

“You must be Hanako Uchiha, right?” Hyori continued, noticing that the Uchiha was at a loss of words. “Everyone talks so much about you, you must be very proud of yourself.” She started to walk around the Uchiha, her short brown hair moving slightly every time she took a step. Hanako followed her with her eyes.

“Senju, you said?” Hyori smiled, looking at Hanako with a wide grin.

“Yeah, like the previous Hokages. The Clan that founded this Village.”

“Looks like someone has a reputation to keep,” Hanako commented. Hyori stopped walking and looked at Hanako with interest. “It would be a shame if someone suddenly messed with it.” Hyori smiled.

“Wanna give it a go, Uchiha?” Hanako smirked.

“After you, _milady_.” Hyori’s smile disappeared, she walked to stand in front of Hanako.

“You, as an Uchiha, must be a Sharingan user,” said Hyori. “I’ve never seen those eyes in action, this might be a great chance.” 

Hanako closed her eyes and reopened them with their red color. Hyori stared at them for a second, then avoided her glance. She had heard about not staring at the Sharingan during a fight, or the Uchiha would win. She wasn’t very good in Genjutsu, so she could definitely not look at them.

“Oh...this is going to be interesting,” Kaichi said amused. The four boys that were left out, got together to watch the fight. “Do we make a bet, Ren?” he asked.

Ren looked at him and shrugged.

“I take Hyori,” Kaichi smirked.

“I’ll stick with Uchiha, then.” Ren smirked back. “1000 ryo.”

“Deal.”

Takeshi and Kazuki looked at each other. Then, they looked at the boys. “Hanako is going to win,” Kazuki said. “She has never lost a match.”

“But she hasn’t fought, Hyori.” Kaichi smiled. “You’d be surprised.”

 

 

Hyori launched a kunai in the direction of the Uchiha’s head. Hanako, seeing this, swiftly moved to the side dodging it while making hand seals.

 _“Katon: Housenka no Jutsu,”_ from her mouth came out small fireballs that moved quickly towards the Senju. Hyori quickly made some hand seals herself and created a wood shield, stopping the fire directed towards her. Hanako smirked and positioned herself behind the girl with exceptional speed, placing a kunai on her throat. “Mokuton? Wow, you definitely have a reputation to keep. But…is that all you’ve got?” she asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice. “I was hoping to have a little bit more of fun.”

“I’m not done yet!” Hyori disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving in her place a piece of wood that fell to the ground.

“Tsk!” Hanako looked around her for the blue eyed brunette, but couldn’t find her anywhere.

 _“Mokuton: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu,”_ from the ground around her, clones of Hyori surged surrounding the Uchiha.

“It’s not fun if the real one hides like a coward,” Hanako said while eyeing all of the clones cautiously with her Sharingan.

Hyori watched her opponent intently while she hid behind some bushes. She chuckled when she heard Hanako and made some hand seals.  _‘In that case...how about this?’_  She jumped out of her hiding place and landed a few steps behind the Uchiha placing both her hands on the ground.

 _“Doton: Chikyu Jishin.”_ The ground started to move as if affected by an earthquake in a radius of five meters. The clones all disappeared and Hanako jumped out of the way while making other hand seals.

 _“Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.”_ She created a great fireball that quickly moved towards the Senju girl.

“Hm...” Hyori smirked and made hand seals once again before placing her hands on the ground.  _“Mokuton: Moryuuheki,”_ a wooden pillar appeared just in front of her, protecting her from the fire. The jutsu required a lot of chakra on her part, and Hyori was having a hard time trying to maintain it as sweat rolled down her temples.

Hanako fell on the ground —seconds after the earthquake had ceased— and watched curiously the pillar the girl had built. “So this is how you protected yourself from that fireball, huh?” Hanako smirked. “Not bad...” she started walking towards the pillar. “Now what?” she asked herself as she looked for her kunai on her clothes. “I wonder, how much time can you keep that up?”

Hyori suddenly widened her eyes when she realized Hanako’s intentions. She momentarily lost her focus for a second making the pillar lose part of its stability and making it tremble. “Dammit!” Hanako noticed this and smirked even wider. Without losing any second she threw her kunai to the tree right next to the Senju making her flinch. She lost her focus completely and the pillar fell apart revealing her figure to the Uchiha. “What?” She widened her eyes but immediately returned to her seriousness. “This isn’t over yet!” she made more hand seals as she gathered air in her lungs.  _“Suiton: Yuudachi no Jutsu,”_ water came out of her mouth in a powerful stream. Hanako widened her eyes when she saw the water coming with her Sharingan.  _‘Water as well?!’_ She narrowed her eyes.  _‘I won’t fall for it again.’_ She jumped away from the water and landed on a high branch. The jutsu hit the trunk beside her and, surprised, she noticed that the water had pierced through it.  _‘That was a close one.’_ She sighed and turned to look back at were the Senju was but found that she was gone.

“This one likes to play hide and seek...” she mumbled tiredly as she crossed her arms and rested for a minute against the trunk. “I’m not looking forward for a second round so...I’ll just wait here for her next attack.”      

 

* * *

 

After Hyori performed the water jutsu, she quickly hid again behind a tree trunk as she tried to regulate her breathing. She was using too much chakra and she still hadn’t landed a single hit on her. She bit her lip as she tightened her fists. She wouldn’t let an Uchiha made fun of her like that. She made a seal and made a bunch of clones that ran towards her opponent, while she just observed them intently. Losing was not in her to-do list.

Hanako noticed the clones that sprinted in her direction and got in her stance once again. She jumped back and started to run deeper into the woods as she looked in her clothes for some shuriken. When she found some, she quickly turned around and threw them hitting one of the clones. The shuriken nailed on its forehead making it turn into a wooden doll before it fell limply to ground.

“Two can play the same game.” She eyed the fallen clone with her Sharingan before making a hand seal.  _“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,”_ two shadow clones appeared on her sides that went to attack the two remaining clones. One of the wood clones was defeated but the remaining one managed to make the shadow clones disappear. Hanako smirked as she landed on a clearing and waited for the clone to catch up to her. “For a clone, you’re not that bad as a fighter…” she said when it finally landed in front of her. “But still...” She pulled out a kunai from her clothes and swiftly nailed it on the clone’s forehead. “It’s not enough.” She narrowed her eyes as she watched the clone fall to the ground transformed to a wooden doll.

Hyori had been following the Uchiha cautiously as she watched her battle against her clones until all of them were defeated. “That Uchiha...” she mumbled threateningly as she narrowed her eyes.  “She really is something.” She smirked. “But not even close to my level.” She grabbed a bunch of kunai from her pouch and tied to them some explosive tags. She then threw them all around Hanako and made them explode, forming a big cloud of smoke. She took a soldier pill and got into a fighting stance preparing to jump into the smoke. “Time to use some Taijutsu.” She concentrated all her chakra left on the soles of her feet to increase her speed and strength.

Hanako could notice all the smoke that was quickly growing around her and hindering her vision. In those conditions her Sharingan was totally useless since she couldn’t see a thing. She closed her eyes and concentrated on sensing the Senju. She could feel her running to her at a great speed and opened her eyes just in time to see her launch a high kick to her side. She grabbed her ankle in midair while smirking. “Too slow.” She quickly let her go and did a back flip, backing away. Hyori glared at her as she got ready to launch herself at her again. “Isn’t Taijutsu the first thing you rely on during fights? I almost thought you sucked at it since you skipped it.”

“Don’t talk too much.” She sprinted towards her again aiming again for another high kick. She managed to make another clone thanks to the smoke and hid it to wait for a signal. She wouldn’t let that Uchiha get away. She had perfectly clear in her mind that she couldn’t even glance at her Sharingan or everything would be over.

Hanako defended herself from the attacks that the Senju threw at her; however, she left an opening —that the Senju noticed almost immediately— and received a clean kick to her stomach. Hanako went flying back and hit against a tree trunk, crushing all the wood with her back. She fell down to the ground and lifted a hand to clean the blood that trailed from the side of her mouth to her jaw. A kunai had fallen from her clothes at the moment the Senju hit her, and got nailed on the ground.

Hyori smirked and lifted her hand for the hidden clone to come out. “Guess I didn’t need to use this.” She walked to the where the girl sat defeated, the clone walking beside her. “I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly...” Hanako chuckled.

“I think you’ve forgotten something.” She stood up and looked at her as a smirk formed on her lips.

“What do you mean?” Hyori raised an eyebrow. Hanako looked at the kunai nailed on the ground.

“Look around.” The Senju looked at the kunai and her eyes widened. “Don’t you find something out of place?” The image reflected on the knife made Hyori back away. It showed herself in a fighting stance in front of Hanako that looked at her, smirking, with the same kunai in her hand. Her teammates were looking at them both exasperatedly.

“What’s going on?” She clearly heard Kaichi’s voice as an echo. “Do something, Hyori! I’m betting on you!”

“What is this?” She turned back at the Uchiha but found that she had vanished. She looked back at the kunai and found Hanako picking it up and inspecting it cautiously.

“I think it’s time to go back to reality.” Hanako smirked and looked at back at Hyori with the Sharingan. Their eyes met. Hyori for a second felt that her body froze. She had looked into her eyes. She could feel as her mind wandered into her pupil and was slowly being absorbed by it. “Hyori.” She heard her name being called and immediately she came back into her senses. She was still in front of Hanako but something was strange. Her chakra was completely replenished, and her clothes were clean of dirt. But she felt tired, too exhausted. Hyori trembled slightly before falling to her knees. She stopped herself from falling completely by placing her hands in front of her, and she panted heavily. She felt like she had just ran a marathon.

Hanako deactivated her Sharingan and put away the kunai she was holding. “That was all, huh?” she mumbled. “I expected some more...” Hyori was confused. She didn’t know what the hell had happened. But then it hit her, a Genjutsu.

“Hyori, are you okay?” Kaichi asked concerned as he ran to her side. Hyori still couldn’t believe what had happened. When she looked up, she could see Hanako still staring at her. She trembled…in anger.

“When did you...?” Hyori inquired.

“You observed my Sharingan the moment I activated it. It was for less than a second but for me it was enough.” Hanako smirked. “You were so curious to know what the Sharingan looked like that you couldn’t help but looking at it for once, thinking that if you were fast enough I wouldn’t notice. Too bad I did.”

“I can’t believe this... I thought I was being careful.” Hyori closed her eyes tightly, clenching her fists.

“You’re strong,” Hanako said making Hyori widen her eyes. “I have to admit.” Hanako smiled. “Your strong point is Taijutsu. You use chakra to improve your movements and it’s easier for you to control it than when you perform Ninjutsu. But, you lose your focus too easily.” Hyori looked at her incredulously when she mentioned all her weaknesses to her face. “I’m pretty good myself in Genjutsu,” Hanako continued. “I can play with my opponent’s mind to my liking, that’s why I won today. You didn’t think I could, you underestimated me.” Hanako scoffed and shook her head and turned to walk away. “Let’s go, Kazuki, Takeshi.” The two boys followed as she made her way back to the village. “We have better things to do.”

Hyori only stayed on the ground, watching them leave. “Hey, Hyori…” She heard Ren’s voice. “What happened?” She turned to look at him with her eyes narrowed and her hands tightened into fists.

“That fight did happen. But everything was just a Genjutsu from that Uchiha.” Hyori seemed upset. “I can’t believe I got fooled like that.”

“I guess Hanako really hasn’t lost a match, huh?” Kaichi chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

“You do know that means you owe me 1000 ryo, right?” Ren raised eyebrow at him. Kaichi clicked his tongue.

“Really, can’t you cut it a little? 200?”

“No.” Ren smirked. “You owe me Kaichi.” 

“Shut up…” Hyori stood slowly, feeling better. “Next time...” she said, calling the attention of her companions. “I will certainly defeat her.”

 


	15. Nominations for the Chunnin Exam

_“Where could they_ be?” Shisui wondered out loud as he walked with Itachi. They were looking for Hanako and her team after finally gaining the approval of her teacher.

“Maybe they’re training…” Itachi mentioned casually, making Shisui look at him seriously.

“Couldn’t you have suggested that half an hour ago?” Shisui sighed. “Of course, Hanako loves training. You probably stalked her and figured that out.” Itachi looked at him, about to defend himself. Then he remembered observing her training with his father, and shut his mouth.

Shisui was looking at him and laughed. “I can’t believe you…” he muttered in between chuckles, shaking his head.

Itachi sighed, “It’s not what you think…”

“Sure,” Shisui looked at the sky and noticed a falcon hovering over their heads. He frowned. _‘It’s almost evening,’_ he thought. “Sorry, Itachi. I have to go.” He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Itachi looked beside him to find him gone. He sighed and continued his way, looking for Hanako.

  

 

Shisui arrived to his house and quickly changed his clothes. He carelessly took off the black yukata and put on his ninja vest. Then he hurried towards the Hokage mansion, it was almost time for the meeting to begin.

“Took you some time,” a Jounin muttered to him once he noticed his arrival. “Where were you, Shisui-san?”

Shisui looked at him and smiled slightly. “I had some business to take care of,” he replied as he entered the meeting room, followed by the other Jounin. They all arranged in line in front of the Hokage.

“Well, as you may already know, it’s almost time for the Chunnin Exams. This year, Konoha will be the host for this round,” announced the Third. “These exams —planned twice a year— serve as a way of unification among Shinobi of all countries and the measurement of the development of their ninja abilities. You have to be certain about the level of your Genin students before even thinking about signing them up to participate. Let alone the mention of the requirements, including the eight successfully completed missions.” The Hokage exhaled smoke from his pipe. “And thus, we may start with the official nominations for this year’s first round of the Chunnin Exams.” All Jounin suddenly got serious, especially the supervisors, who walked a couple of steps forward and bowed to the Hokage. Shisui had his eyes set on Kaito, Hanako’s teacher. “Let’s begin with you, Hiroshi.” The old man directed himself to the black haired Jounin, who stood on the left end.

“Yes, Hokage-sama.” He made a seal with his index and middle fingers as he talked. “I, Hiroshi, leader of Team 3 conformed by: Ren Sonoda, Kaichi Kazeyama and Hyori Senju; wish to nominate the three of them to participate in the upcoming Chunnin Exams.” The Hokage nodded as his eyes moved to the next Jounin, who followed the same procedure.

“I, Kaito Hayata, leader of Team 4 conformed by: Kazuki Mitokado, Takeshi Komatsu and Hanako Uchiha; wish to nominate the three of them to participate in the upcoming Chunnin Exams.” The last one in line prepared himself to talk.

“I, Masaru Abukara, leader of Team 2 conformed by: Itachi Uchiha, Koharu Anami and Hiroki Daishi; wish to nominate the three of them to participate in the upcoming Chunnin Exams.”

“Well…” The Hokage sighed. “Anyone else?” he asked without receiving any kind of answer. “In that case…” he muttered, “The Genin of Konoha to participate in the Chunnin Exams are now officially nominated.” All the Jounin walked back to their places in line. “Now I want Shisui Uchiha, Ibiki Morino and Hayate Gekko to take a step forward.” The aforementioned did as commanded. “Ibiki.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.” The Jounin bowed.

“I want you to be the proctor of the first test. The Jounin that used to take care of it has just retired.” Ibiki bowed again.

“Yes, sir.”

“Shisui, you’ll be the proctor for the second test.”

“Hai!”

“Hayate…” He motioned to the last one. “You’ll be the proctor for the third test.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” he bowed.

“In that case, everything’s been decided. Start with the preparations,” said the Hokage. Everyone nodded and disappeared. 

 

* * *

 

Hanako walked along the streets with her teammates after facing the Senju and her team. She suddenly saw Itachi walking in their direction.

“Wasn’t Shisui with you?” Hanako asked raising an eyebrow. Itachi stopped in front of them.

“He was summoned to the Hokage tower,” he explained.  

Hanako nodded and suddenly felt an agonizing pain in her head. She reached both her hands to it as everything in her sight became suddenly blurry.  _‘Damn...I think I used too much chakra,’_ she thought. Everything around her became black; but before falling unconscious, Itachi caught her in his arms.

“Hanako!” Takeshi screamed worried. Itachi picked her up and carried her to a stone bench nearby at the side of the street. He placed her over it while the other two stood at his side. Itachi activated his Sharingan to look at her and after a moment he deactivated it with a sigh.

“Her chakra is dangerously low.” He turned to look at Kazuki and Takeshi with an expectant look. “What were you doing?” The boys tensed and turned to look at each other before turning back to the Uchiha.

“Well...” Kazuki looked away. “Hanako and I had a match in the training grounds. Just so you know, she only used a fire technique and a Genjutsu against me.” He looked up and flinched when he noticed Itachi’s intent stare. “After that, we came across another Genin. We talked for a while and then...”

“Kazuki.” Takeshi sighed. “He didn’t ask for the details so just tell him what he wants to know.” Kazuki nodded and looked at the Uchiha.

“Hanako got into a fight with someone. She used a Genjutsu on her and soon it was over, but I think she used a lot of chakra in it...” Itachi nodded and turn to look back at the unconscious girl. He pressed his lips into a thin line.

“She’s worn herself out,” he suddenly said. “It seems that she has already reached her limit. Let’s leave her to rest.” The other two nodded while Itachi picked her up again. “I’ll take her home,” he said before walking away with the girl in his arms. Takeshi rolled his eyes, clenching his hands into fists.

“I could have taken her home!”

 

 

When Itachi arrived to the young Uchiha’s home, he softly kicked the door with his foot. Akira opened the door and worry struck her face when she took notice of her unconscious daughter in the boy’s arms.

“Hanako?” She looked at Itachi expectantly, waiting for some sort of explanation.

“She’s fine,” he said calmly. “She’s just exhausted; she has used almost all of her chakra.” Akira sighed relieved and moved to let the Uchiha walk in.

“Right, she tends to do that... Come in.” Itachi walked in. “She just never learns. It happened a lot when she trained with your father, he would bring her in his arms since she couldn’t move to come here on her own. Next morning, she would be miraculously fine.” Itachi smiled at that.

“I’ll take her to her room,” he said and Akira nodded.

“Upstairs, the first door to the left.”

Itachi nodded and walked to Hanako’s room. Once he entered, he placed her softly on her bed and stared at her. She breathed deeply, her chest rising slowly and falling again. She was probably going to sleep for a while. Deciding it was enough staring, Itachi turned his back to her. He started observing her room until a small object over the bureau called his attention. It was a picture of Hanako and her family. Hanako was laughing beside her older sister while both her parents looked at them lovingly. A small smile crept into Itachi’s lips as he took the frame in his hand to get a better look.

Her family suddenly reminded him of his, but he couldn’t imagine living a life without his father. He couldn’t imagine what Hanako could be going through. Itachi looked back at the girl. She still had her black yukata on, covered in dirt. He chuckled. Hanako would always get into fights, but she would always win and scare her opponents so they wouldn’t mess with her again. Izumi told him a lot of stories of how Hanako would get in trouble every day with her teachers for talking back to them. Yet, someone like her graduated early from the Academy.

“I want to know more about you,” Itachi said softly, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to hear him.

“Then ask,” she suddenly said. Itachi felt his heart stop, had she been awake? “Takeshi,” she muttered in her sleep, scrunching her face. “You can’t eat my dango without permission,” she was muttering in her sleep, “If you want some, then ask…” Hanako turned her back to Itachi. The boy sighed in relief.

He decided to put the photo back in its place and walk out of the room.

 

* * *

 

Shisui went to Itachi’s house the next day. “Yoo-hoo,” he knocked on his window. “Itachi, are you home?” The boy opened his window and looked at his friend.

“How come you’re not in a mission?” Itachi asked.

Shisui smiled. “Chunnin Exams are coming~” He invited himself into Itachi’s room. “Are you ready to go?”

“Go where? I have to meet my team in an hour,” he frowned.

“Then we have an hour.” Shisui smiled. “We’re going to Hanako’s house.”

 

 

Shisui knocked at Hanako’s door. Itachi stood beside him, wondering what in the world he was doing there. He shouldn’t have listened to him. He should leave now to meet his team, even if he was an hour early. Hikari opened the door. “Shisui?” she frowned. “It’s a little early, what are you doing here?”

“How are you?” he asked with a smile. “Have you been sleeping?” his face suddenly softened when he noticed the bags under her eyes. Hikari looked away.

“Just…a few hours now and then…”

“And Hanako? Has she been sleeping?” he then asked.

Hikari took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “I could have slept longer if it wasn’t for Mom yelling at her last night.”

Shisui became serious, “What happened?”

Hikari sighed, inviting them into the house. They all sat in the table, where Hikari was eating breakfast. “She got into a fight yesterday,” she said, eating her miso soup.

“Again?” Shisui rolled his eyes. “With whom?”

“I don’t know the girl,” Hikari shook her head. “She said her name was Hyori Senju, or something like that.” Itachi looked at her.

“I think I know that name,” he said. “I remember that girl to be part of a Genin team from our generation.”

“Well, she beat up that girl…” Hikari sighed, “Mom was pissed.”

Hanako suddenly appeared at the stairs and walked towards the kitchen without acknowledging anybody. Shisui was the first one to speak, “You normally say ‘Good morning,’ when you have guests home,” he said. Hanako didn’t look up at him. She silently picked up an apple from the fruit basket and headed for the door.

“Are you not having any breakfast?” Akira appeared from the hallway, looking at her daughter.

“I’m not hungry,” said Hanako, stopping to put on her sandals. Akira stood in front of the girl, stopping her from walking out.

“Where do you think you’re going, miss?”

“I have to meet my team,” Hanako looked up at her mother with stern eyes.

Akira laughed cynically. “You are not going out on missions, Hanako, you are grounded!”

“But!”

“No buts!” Akira snapped.

“Actually, Akira-san, Chunnin Exams start next week, so Genin teams meet today to talk about them.” Hanako looked at Shisui for a moment, not saying anything. Then her eyes found Itachi, who was looking back at her. Hanako rolled her eyes, feeling uncomfortable. Why was he there as well?

Akira sighed. “Hanako, do you think you deserve to participate in the Chunnin Exams?” she asked.

Hanako widened her eyes at her. “Come on, Mom! I have been waiting three years for this!”

“I think…Genin that get into fights don’t deserve to become Chunnin…” Akira said. Hanako frowned.

“Why are you like this?!” she asked. “Dad would have let me!”

“Don’t pull that card on me, Hanako!” Akira yelled at her.

“Why not?! Because it’s true?!” Hanako yelled back. “You never liked the idea of me being a ninja! So now that he’s not here, you won’t even let me go on a mission!”

A dry hit could be heard, and Hanako’s head was turned to the side abruptly. She could still feel her cheek stinging from where her mother had slapped her. Her eyes were wide, as small tears started to gather in the brink of them. “You have no right…to speak to me like that, Hanako Uchiha…” Akira said slowly, breathing heavily. “I am your mother, and you have to respect me.” Hanako looked down, her long hair falling to the front, covering her face. “What did I do wrong with you?” Akira asked lowly. “Why are you like this, Hanako? Why can’t you just…stand back a little?” Hanako bit her lip and tears rolled down her cheeks.

“When I did stand back a little…Dad got killed,” she said. “I told you, Mom. I changed…”

“Then why?” Akira asked again slowly. “Why would you fight that girl?”

Hanako stayed silent.

“Why, Hanako?”

“She started it…” Hanako looked up at her mother with red puffy eyes. “She started mocking me about how I was like some sort of queen to this realm, and bothering me about crossing boundaries…I don't know, she was so weird; but that’s not why I was angry at her…”

“Then why…”

“I was angry at because of her name…” Hanako muttered slowly. Shisui widened his eyes, and looked at Itachi. The boy was still staring at Hanako and her mom. Shisui called his attention, pulling out a paper from his pouch. It was Amane’s first page of information. “When she said she was a Senju, I was angry at myself. I don’t know why…I had never heard that name before. Just that it was the Clan the First and Second Hokage belonged to.”  

Shisui showed the paper to Itachi, and the boy widened his eyes. Amane used to have a grudge with the Senju Clan, but it didn’t mention why or any details about it. Itachi looked back at Hanako, there was a slight possibility she really was Amane’s reincarnation, but they needed more evidence to confirm it.

“All right,” Akira finally nodded. “Go. But I don’t want to hear about any more fights outside of sparring, understood?!”

Hanako nodded quickly, bowing at her mother. “Yes, ma’am.” With that she left, heading towards her team meeting.

Shisui looked back at Itachi and nodded. “We should get going as well…” he commented, getting up from the table. Itachi followed him.

Hikari suddenly stopped Shisui, grabbing his forearm. “You are not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on,” Hikari narrowed her eyes at him. “What’s that paper you showed Itachi-kun?”

The two boys looked at each other with pale faces.

 

 

Hanako met with her team in the training grounds where the K.I.A stone rested. They were all wearing their ninja attire. Kazuki wore a blue t-shirt with a V-neck that made his blue eyes stand out, black pants and his blue ninja sandals. He wore his kunai holder on his right leg, besides wearing a weapon belt for the rest of his weapons.

Takeshi wore a fishnet shirt and over it a beige open jacket. He had black pants just like Kazuki’s and his black ninja sandals. Unlike his friend, he used his kunai holder in his left leg, and in his waist he tied a weapon belt.

Hanako wore a fishnet shirt and over it a red V-neck t-shirt. She had a gray waist band, where she tied her own weapon belt. She also had black tights that reached over her knees and her kunai holder in her right leg. She had black ninja sandals and in her left hand she had a fingerless glove and a gray warmer around her right elbow.

They all had their village protector on their foreheads. The sensei, dressed in his Jounin attire, arrived with a smile on his face and three papers in his hand.

“As you must know, it’s almost time for the Chunnin Exams, and I have decided to nominate the three of you to participate.” He announced as he showed them the application forms in his hand. “If you want to, you must fill this form and come to class 301 in the academy, six days from today.” He gave one form to each one of them.

“The Chunnin Exams?” Kazuki observed the form in his hands for a moment. “This surely is going to be full of strong guys...”

“That’s why you’ll need to train harder.” Kaito looked sideways at the female Uchiha who watched her form with emotion filled eyes.

“Kaito-sensei,” Takeshi called. “Please train me!” He begged, making the sensei smile.

He looked at his student. “Of course I’ll train you.” Kaito then looked at the girl. “But Hanako...” She looked at him. “Shisui told me that he will be the one to train you.” Hanako widened her eyes.

“Shisui?” she asked.       

“Yeah, he asked me if he could train you himself. He must be waiting for you, so you should get going.”

“Oh…okay,” she nodded. “See you later, then,” Hanako waved at her teammates. “And thank you, Kaito-sensei.” She smiled at the Jounin who smiled back at her.  

“No problem. Good luck.” She heard him say before parting.

 

 

Hanako detected Shisui’s chakra at the bridge and headed in his direction. He was there standing with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. She moved to stand next to him, wondering if he had already noticed her presence.

“Before you ask,” he suddenly said surprising her. “I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. Although you seemed pretty busy this morning.” Hanako nodded looking down, trying to hide the embarrassment in her face. “Once again, I’m sorry kid, but you have to move on. And I don’t mean to forget about you father,” He opened his eyes to look at her. “I mean you have to accept he’s gone.”  Hanako looked up to him and pressed her lips tightly.

“I know…” She shook her head, staring back down. “What are we going to do?” she asked.

“How about...walking on water?” Shisui smirked. “I think I owe you that.” Hanako nodded. Shisui jumped off the bridge, landing swiftly over the water surface. “Concentrate your chakra on the soles of your feet and keep it balanced. If you’re good for Genjutsu, then you should be good for chakra control. This shall be a piece of cake.” Hanako nodded once again and did as the elder Uchiha said. When she felt ready, she jumped off the bridge and closed her eyes maintaining her chakra focused in the soles of her feet.

When she came in contact with the water, for her it was as if she had landed over the ground. It felt solid, as if a thin layer of crystal clear glass was covering the surface of the river. She opened her eyes and looked as the water continued with its flow despite of her feet in its way. Hanako looked up and noticed that Shisui was smiling widely.

“It wasn’t so complicated now, was it?” Hanako smiled and shook her head. “Good, let’s get going.”

“Where to?” She raised an eyebrow.

“The woods,” he replied curtly walking towards the trees. Hanako just shrugged and started following him, feeling slightly happier with every step she took over the water.

When they made it to the place in Shisui’s mind, they finally stopped. Hanako noticed that there were targets nailed on the tree trunks, probably for shuriken and kunai aiming practice. Shisui looked at her.

“Climb that tree over there.” He pointed to a tree behind her. Confused, Hanako just nodded before walking towards said tree. When she placed her hands in a stance to start the climbing, she was immediately stopped by the raven haired Uchiha. “ _Without_ using your hands.”

“What?” She turned to him wide eyed. “How am I supposed to do that?” Shisui smirked and pointed his feet. Hanako looked at hers and placed one on the trunk but this slipped back down. “Shisui, you seriously got to be kidding me...”

“Nope.” He chuckled. “I’m dead serious.” His grin became solemn. Hanako sighed tiredly and looked up to the top of the tree. “It’s the same principle as walking on water,” Shisui explained. “Concentrate your chakra in the soles of your feet, take your impulse and run. Some say that it’s even easier than walking on water. But in this case, if you concentrate too much chakra, you might get repelled from the tree.” He smirked saying this.

Hanako looked back down. She focused on the bark as she took some steps backwards. She sighed and, focusing her chakra in her feet, she took the run. Taking her first step over the trunk, she started run-climbing. Shisui kept his intent stare on her, expecting her to reach the top shortly. When she was mid-way there, she focused too much chakra and the wood crunched under her feet.

“Tsk!” Hanako jumped back, doing a back-flip before landing on her feet. “Again!” she announced taking her run one more time.  _‘Come on Hanako, you can do this! You just have to keep your chakra balanced!’_ This time, she focused too little chakra and her feet slipped off the wood, letting her fall back to the ground.  _‘Dammit! This is too complicated...’_ She looked back at the top before closing her eyes and try to focus her chakra and balance it. She opened her eyes and took her run for the third time. This time she maintained the balance until she reached the top and smiled widely as she landed on the highest branch. She looked down at Shisui and found him smiling at her.

“So, you finally made it. Not bad, not everyone manages to success on their third try,” he said.

“Well, you know the saying.” Hanako crossed her arms. “The third time’s the charm.” Shisui chuckled. 

“Fine, then. Come back down.” Hanako jumped off the branch and landed swiftly beside him. “We’ll start now with the basics of the Shinobi training: Taijutsu.” Hanako raised an eyebrow.

“Now?”

“Yes, we ought to work on your stamina.” Hanako sighed looking away. Without a warning, Shisui threw a fist towards her face, which she barely noticed and crouched to dodge it. “Never let your guard down!” he hissed. This time, he aimed a kick in her direction. Hanako covered herself with her arms letting the kick to send her flying backwards. She slid to a stop and moved her arms back down. Shisui suddenly appeared in front of her, making Hanako widen her eyes.  _‘How fast!’_ She activated her Sharingan, and tilted her head sideways just in time to avoid a hit directed to her left cheek. Shisui’s fist landed on the trunk behind her; the wood cracked. Shisui sighed and looked sideways to the brunette that stood astonished beside him, wide eyes glued to the woods in front of her. “You need to learn hand combat. You can’t always rely on Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.”

During the first days of training, Shisui and Hanako worked on taijutsu without a break. When she finally started to get a hold of it, they moved to Ninjutsu. Using chakra bred paper, they found out that Hanako’s second nature was wind. Shisui taught her how to mold it so she could increase her weapons’ damage by making them sharper, and many other uses for her wind nature.

The six days went by, and finally the day of the Chunnin Exams caught up to them.     

 

 

 


	16. The Genin from Konoha

_The day before your exam starts, you shall relax._

 

 _Shisui’s words still_ lingered in Hanako’s mind as she made her way across the Uchiha District. It had been awhile since she had a day off, and she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do.

Being so far from the center of the Village, the Uchiha were forced to start their own businesses. Food stands were lined up along the road, and civilian women and retired Shinobi from the Clan happily sold their goods.

“Oh my, have you grown, Hanako-chan!” Hanako stopped walking when she heard a voice call to her. She looked over at one of the stands and found an old lady looking at her with a kind smile. The wrinkles around her eyes and lips became more prominent in her grinning face.

Hanako smiled back, “It’s been a while, Haruma-baa.” Haruma Uchiha was one of the few respected elders among the Uchiha, not many of them could live to an old age like she had. Most died in battles outside the Village and for the Village’s sake at a young age, even though they were rarely rewarded. Besides, Haruma’s sweet rice cookies were something to die for.

“Just look at you, a full-fledged Shinobi already. Your father would have been so proud of you.” Hanako chuckled half-heartedly. She had learned to accept that people would always refer to her father when talking about her. She was probably the daughter most would have wanted, and the girl all fathers wanted their son to marry. The girls in the Clan weren’t normal Shinobi after all, they were guardians.

Children have always been trained to be warriors in the Uchiha Clan, regardless if they were boys or girls, and then they would often be forced to marry and bear their own children. The strongest men would always marry the strongest women, and the weakest would marry the rest.

The Uchiha Clan had always been an elitist clan, and would always be. One had to be powerful to be regarded, so it was to be expected that the Leader was the strongest Uchiha of all.

“How old are you?” Hanako looked at the old lady once again. For a moment she had let herself wander away in her thoughts.

“Ten,” she said. “I’m still ten years old, and a Genin, so I’m not precisely full-fledged yet…” Hanako looked down, biting her lower lip. ‘ _If I had been, I could have protected my father’._

Haruma noticed Hanako’s gloomy posture and smiled apologetically. “Will you participate in the Chunnin Exam, Hanako-chan?”

Hanako looked back at the old lady. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Have you been training?”

“Of course,” Hanako smiled. “Fugaku-sama has been teaching me fire jutsu, and Shisui-san has been training me too.”

Haruma chuckled. “Being trained by those two…you must really be a promising child.” Hanako frowned slightly.

“I’m sorry?”

Haruma looked around and then, upon finding no one paying attention to them, leaned towards Hanako. “People have been talking a lot about you, saying…stuff about you.”

Hanako gulped, “What kind of stuff?”

Haruma’s eyes softened before she smiled again. “You have to watch out for yourself, Hanako-chan.” The old lady then looked at something over Hanako’s shoulder and immediately bowed her head.

“Hanako Uchiha,” Hanako flinched at the stern voice directed to her. She looked at two members of the Uchiha Police Force standing behind her from over her shoulder. “Fugaku-sama wants to see you.”

“Right now?” she asked. She knew them both. Tekka and Inabi, they were the youngest members from the Force, from the same generation as Shisui.

“Yes.” Tekka was the one who spoke to her, Inabi only limited himself to glower at her with his arms crossed over his chest.

Hanako sighed, “But it’s my day off…” she whined slightly.

“You don’t have a word in this, kid, just let’s get going.” Inabi butted in, speaking in a hoarse voice. Hanako glared at him.

“Hanako-chan,” Hanako was surprised to hear the old lady speak again to her. “Here.” She handed her a bag filled with her special cookies and smiled. “Behave well, good luck with Fugaku-sama.”

Hanako was speechless; she simply nodded and walked towards Tekka and Inabi while holding tightly her bag of cookies. When she stepped past Inabi, she mumbled lowly: “You don’t get to call me kid.”

Inabi looked at her from the tip of his eye, and smirked. “I get to call you whatever I want, at least until you prove me otherwise.”

 

* * *

 

Hanako sat in Fugaku’s office. For the last minutes, the leader had just been staring at her, not saying anything. She was starting to feel uncomfortable under his intent gaze, but she couldn’t look away from him. That would give him the impression that she was afraid, maybe because she had done something bad but she had no idea why she was there in the first place.

“Why am I here?” she decided to ask.

Fugaku continued to stare at her, until he finally leaned back into his chair and took a deep breath. “Have you heard the rumors?” he asked.

“What rumors?” Hanako frowned, maybe it had something to do with what the old lady had told her.

“Some foreign civilians are claiming a member of the Uchiha attacked their village, and burned it to ashes in a single night.” Fugaku looked straight into her eyes. “The night before you returned to the village.”

“You think I did it…” Hanako looked down.

“It seems too much of a coincidence to me. Besides, the Hokage didn’t tell me anything about it; I found out because Inabi heard some people talking downtown.” Fugaku sighed. “Well, did you attack the village?”

“I didn’t attack it… I had no intention of doing so…” Hanako looked up at Fugaku as her voice broke. “But…I did destroy it…” She looked away from the leader. “I couldn’t stop myself, I don’t know what had taken over me. They had just killed my father, and I wanted them to suffer as well.”

“Does the Hokage know?”

“Yes, he does.” Hanako said. “Fugaku-sama, can I tell you something?”

Fugaku frowned. “What is it?”

Hanako smiled slightly. “Am I a horrible person?” She looked back at the leader.

“Why?”

“I have been thinking about what I did… If you want to put me into a dungeon for a punishment, or lock me in one of the cells in the Police Force, I won’t mind. I think I deserve that.”

“Did anyone see you?” Hanako looked strangely at Fugaku. He was oddly calm, and he was supposed to be yelling at her.

“No, I’m sure I left no survivors.”

“You can never be sure in these situations. There is always a survivor in every massacre. The existence of rumors only proves it, Hanako. Someone survived; someone who saw the crest on your back.” Fugaku looked at her seriously. “But as long as they don’t have a name, we shall not take the blame.”

“How did you know it was me?”

Fugaku smiled. “I had a hunch…you’re different, Hanako. You’re a prodigy just like Itachi. However, you are unlike my son.” Hanako pressed her lips tightly. Fugaku compared her to Itachi in every opportunity he had.

“Unlike…how?”

Fugaku pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up. As he paced around the room, he continued speaking. “Itachi’s heart is too gentle, whereas yours is merciless when given enough reasons. You have the killer intent Itachi lacks.”

“I am nothing but a murderer, aren’t I…” Hanako looked at Fugaku. The leader looked back at her with contemplative eyes before he shook his head.

“No, having a killer intent is not bad, but it can be dangerous if you don’t have a hang of it. You lost control of it when your father was killed.” Fugaku approached Hanako until he stood in front of her. “This cannot happen ever again, understood?”

“How am I supposed to control it?” Hanako asked.

Fugaku smirked. “You need something to protect.” Hanako frowned. “Women in the Uchiha Clan are guardians, they are trained to marry a man and protect their children while the man goes to battle. At least that’s what they were supposed to do before the village was founded. As you may know, Itachi is my successor, and will take over the Clan one day. There are three ways in which a member can become the Clan leader, though. One, you are an heir to it; two, you are chosen by the Council; three, you kill the current successor.”

“You want me to protect your son?” Hanako was surprised.

“Itachi is not very well-liked by most members, he is a loner who speaks only to Shisui. If he has never spoken to any other members, how will I expect them to follow him willingly?” Fugaku said. “Hanako, I not only want you to protect Itachi, I want you to teach him to be like you. You are both alike but at the same time you’re different, and weird it is…people like you.”

“I am just a troublemaker…and now a killer.”

“But everyone expects great things from you, I included.” His eyes lingered in the small bag Hanako had in her hands. “What’s that?”

“Huh, this?” she looked at it. “It’s just some cookies Haruma-baa gave me before I came here. You want some?”

Fugaku shook his head, with a smile on his lips. “I told you, everyone likes you.” He then went to sit back at his desk. Just at that moment, Itachi knocked on the door.

“Father, can I come in?”

“Yes, come on in.”

“I’ll get going then,” Hanako was about to stand up and leave but Fugaku stopped her with an upturn of his hand.

“Please, stay.” When Itachi walked in, his eyes were immediately trained on Hanako, as he closed the door behind him. “What is it, Itachi?”

“I am done with my training,” he said looking back at his father. “I was wondering if there was any new jutsu you could teach me before the exam.”

Fugaku smirked as he looked at Hanako. The girl was dumbfounded, why was he looking at her like that. “I don’t have time to train with you today, Itachi, but perhaps Hanako could teach you.”

“Are you kidding? It’s my day off!” Hanako snapped angrily, then realized she had just yelled at the leader and stepped back.

But Fugaku didn’t seem to mind. “Just perfect then, it means you have time.” He looked at her. “It’s an order.”  

* * *

 

“Is there actually any jutsu you haven’t learned yet?” Hanako commented in a tired voice as she and Itachi walked down the District. She had taken Itachi to the lake and showed him nearly every fire jutsu she knew, only for him to tell her he already knew them. “Even the _Ryuuka no Jutsu_ …”

“I’m sorry…”

“Why are you _apologizing_?!” Hanako exclaimed in a huff. “It’s not your fault…” Itachi didn’t reply. Hanako looked at him sideways, still thinking about what Fugaku had said. Itachi barely spoke to any other members from the Uchiha, and because of that he wasn’t liked by them. They thought Itachi was too arrogant to speak to them, but Itachi didn’t seem to be arrogant. He was just socially awkward, according to her own thoughts.

When Hanako saw a _café_ in the distance, she smiled. She knew what she was going to do. If Itachi didn’t have any charisma, she would help him build it. That particular _café_ was frequently visited by Uchiha willing to relax from their jobs. Younger members would also come here to hang out, and that day the place was crowded.

Without saying anything, she walked into the local and sat down at the last empty table. Itachi followed suit and was about to sit with her when Hanako stopped him. “Who said you could sit with me?”

Itachi was shook. “Um…I thought…”

“I was only told to teach you jutsu…there’s nothing you can learn from me so we’re done.” Hanako smirked. “I don’t want people to think that I’m hanging out with you. Find another table.”

Itachi looked around and frowned. “There are no more empty tables.”

Hanako shrugged, still with a grin in her face. “Then sit with someone else.”

“I don’t know anyone from around here…” Itachi was still looking around, this time nervously.

Hanako almost burst out laughing, “What? They’re all Uchiha, you ought to know at least _someone_.”

Itachi sighed. “I’ll just go home…” Hanako frowned as her smile was wiped out from her face. Itachi turned around and was about to leave when Hanako spoke again.

“Shinobi not only need to train weapons. They must also train their social awareness. I cannot help you in something you already handle, but you lack language. You ought to learn how to make people actually like you.” Hanako stood up from her table and walked towards him. “It eventually comes in handy.” She smiled.

Itachi looked back at her with curious eyes. “Social awareness?”

“People know who you are, but you don’t know anything about anyone.” Hanako frowned. “It should be the other way around, you need to learn how to deal with people so you can get as much information you can about them, without revealing anything about yourself.” Hanako looked at one girl who seemed to be reading a manga alone in her table. “I am going to help you mingle in any crowd, interact with all sorts of people. Not only will it help you in information gathering and infiltration, but it will also help you understand them and make them trust you.”

“And what do I have to do?” Itachi asked.

“This is your mission,” Hanako smirked. “You see that girl over there?” Itachi looked around, and observed the girl with the manga. He nodded. “You have to get her to tell you about her background. Anything…just get her to talk to you. You have five minutes.”

“Five?” Itachi looked at Hanako with questioning eyes but she was already sitting again in her table, looking at him with an amused grin. He sighed and approached the girl’s table… although he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do.

 

* * *

 

On the next day, Team 4 met in their spot next to K.I.A stone just before the Chunnin Exam officially started.

“Are you guys ready?” Takeshi asked a bit nervous.

“The first test is written, there’s nothing to worry about.” Kazuki commented tiredly. Takeshi had been talking about the exams and asking the same questions over and over again during the last days before the exam.

“Written?!” Takeshi widened his eyes. “I’m not ready!” he yelled as he pulled his hair tightly.

“You’ll be fine!” Hanako snapped before sighing. “Come on, it’s almost time...”

“But...”

“Takeshi,” Kazuki looked at him seriously. “We’ll be fine. We’ll all pass, don’t worry,” he said with a small smile and thumbs up. Hanako looked at them and smiled softly. The other two noticed this and looked at her surprised. When the brunette noticed his surprised stares, she raised an eyebrow confused.

“What?” she asked. “Do I have something on my face?”

“You’re smiling.” Takeshi muttered softly. Her smile was immediately wiped out from her face and she turned away from them.  

“Can’t I smile?” she inquired.

“You normally don’t.” Kazuki commented. “At least, not like that.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Let’s go.” She started walking towards the academy. The other two followed her, each one on either side of her.

 

 

When they got there, they walked to the class assigned for the exam. Once inside, they came to find a lot of surprises.

“What are  _you_ doing here?!” Hanako looked up to find a blue eyed brunette in front of her with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she raised an eyebrow. “I came to apply for the Chunnin Exam.”

“Look, Uchiha. I will not let you make fun of me.” Hyori frowned, tightening her hands into fists.  

“Look, Senju.” Hanako smirked as she said in a mocking tone. She came closer to her until her faces were right in front of each other. “I already did.” She muttered softly before poking her forehead.

Hanako walked away, towards one of the tables in the room, followed by her teammates. Hyori watched her, angry, until one of her teammates walked to her.

“Who would’ve thought that dear Uchiha would also participate in the exam...?” Kaichi spoke. “This is going to be interesting.” He chuckled softly. Hyori shot him a glare before walking away towards their other teammate, Ren.

 

 

When Hanako and her team sat at a table, they had a few peaceful seconds before a pair of hands was suddenly placed in a loud thud over it, calling the attention of the three people.

“So, who do we have here?” a boy with dark green hair and bright yellow eyes said, looking intently at them.

“Who asks?” the brunette answered curtly. The 13-year-old boy smirked at her response.

“Hiroki Daishi,” he replied, sitting over the table. “And you are?” Hanako opened her mouth to reply.  

“Hanako Uchiha!” The voice that spoke wasn’t hers. She immediately turned around upon hearing her name. The voice belonged to a blue haired boy that walked in a quick pace towards them. “I supposed we would find you here.”

“You are... Ren, right?” Hanako asked, uncertain. Ren nodded.

“So, Uchiha, huh?” Hiroki spoke once again. “Surely, you must know Itachi,” he said looking at the girl.

“Itachi?” Hanako asked curiously. “You know him?” Hiroki chuckled.

“Of course I do! He’s my teammate.” He sighed. “Sometimes, a pain in the...”

“I know what you mean.” Kazuki commented as he tried to suppress his laugh. “Sometimes, the Uchiha are quite troublesome, aren’t they?” he muttered earning a death glare from the brunette. Hiroki laughed at this.

“You’re right,” he said. “No offense, Hanako-san,” he apologized.

“None taken,” she replied curtly without taking her murderous eyes away from Kazuki, who only looked away, avoiding her glance.

“By the way, I’m Kazuki Mitokado.” The black haired boy said with a slight bow. “Pleasure, Hiroki-san.”

“Likewise.” He replied with a smile.

“I am Takeshi Komatsu.” The brown haired boy said with a small polite smile.

“I’m Ren Sonoda. It’s nice to meet you, Hiroki-san.” Ren said politely.

“Of course,” Hiroki replied with a smirk.

“What is taking so long, Ren?” Kaichi walked towards their table. “I thought you said you would only come by to say hi.” He suddenly took a look at all the people gathered. “Found yourself entertained, huh?”

“So, who’s the newcomer?” Hiroki raised an eyebrow.

“Kaichi Kazeyama.” The blond spoke proudly while he looked at a girl with orange curled hair walk up to them.

“Hiroki, what do you think you’re doing?” she asked the yellow eyed boy.

“Just chatting with some other Konoha Genin. Relax, Koharu. The first test hasn’t even started yet.” Hiroki sighed.

“Not yet, but soon it will.” She nagged. She looked at the rest of the Genin and her eyes posed over a blond that didn’t want to take his eyes off her. “What are you staring at?” she asked rudely.

“A pretty girl,” Kaichi said with a flirtatious smile.

“Ugh...disgusting.” She grimaced, frowning.

“Kaichi, would you stop doing that? I’ve told you, it is annoying.” Hyori walked towards the table, looking for her team. “Now really, what’s taking you guys so long?” Hanako rolled her eyes at her sudden appearance.

“Great. Now, who’s missing?” she muttered sarcastically.

“Koharu, Hiroki, the test is about to start, what are you doing?” They both flinched at the serious voice and turned to look behind them for its owner.

“Of course, _he_ was missing...” Hanako rolled her eyes once again before letting out a long sigh.

“Itachi-kun!” Koharu squeaked. “Well...I...came to call Hiroki since he’s only fooling around with some brats, so...” She stuttered, while smiling like a dumb teen.

“Brats, you say?” Kazuki raised an eyebrow. “Speak for yourself.” He spat annoyed.

“Shut up,  _brat._ ” Koharu snapped back.

“Don’t want to,” he said defiantly. Koharu smacked her hand against the table.

“Kid, I suggest you not to make me angry.”

“What if I do?” He defied.

“I will...” She started saying as she tightened her hand into a fist and launched herself towards him. However, she was suddenly stopped by Hanako, who now looked at her menacingly.

“I suggest you not to mess with my friends, or you’ll be in great trouble.” She narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t need your help.” Kazuki hissed at his teammate.

“Another fighting brat?” Koharu mocked. “If not, what are you going to do to me?”

“I don’t think you want to know.” She hissed.

“Oh really?” she asked. “Listen, here the weakling is you!”

“Me?” Hanako faked her surprise as she let go of Koharu’s hand. “I don’t pick up fights with kids younger than me,” she said mockingly. “At least I thought that you would have a bit of dignity to go serious on Genin ‘weaker’ than you.” She smirked. “Or is it that you’re coward enough to pick up a fight with someone your level?”

“Oooo...” Kaichi muttered silently. “Low blow...” All of the present, except for Hanako and Koharu —that were too busy in their fight to pay attention to the blond— looked at him with a glare. 

“You...” Koharu hissed.

“Hanako...” Takeshi warned. “Save it for later.” Hanako looked at him sideways. She was going to ignore him, but then her mother’s words ringed in her mind. She couldn’t get into fights, at least not until the exam started.

“Tsk...fine.” She shot a last glance towards the girl before turning back to her teammates.

“Hm, we’ll see who the weakling is.” Koharu smirked. “Itachi-kun’s on my side, right?” she said while holding tightly onto Itachi’s arm. Hanako raised an eyebrow at the sight and then scoffed.

“Whatever...” She turned on her heels and walked away, aware of Hyori following her.

“Hey, who’s he…that Itachi guy?” she asked. Hanako stopped on her tracks and turned her head slightly to look at her.

“Why do you want to know?” Hanako raised her eyebrows, waiting for the Senju’s answer.

“He’s cute...” Hyori muttered softly, looking away towards Itachi. Hanako looked at her, then at Itachi, then back at her and then rolled her eyes.

“Come on, not you as well.” She mumbled. “Do you like him?” Hanako asked with a frown when she noticed Hyori’s smile.

“Maybe...” Hyori’s eyes landed on Hanako once again and her smile turned into a smirk. “Why so angry, Uchiha?” She raised an eyebrow.

“For nothing.” Hanako pursed her lips at the Senju’s mocking tone. Her eyes suddenly fell on Koharu once again, noticing that she still hadn’t let go of the male Uchiha. Hyori noticed this and followed her eyes, looking at Koharu as well.

“It’s for her isn’t it?” she asked, looking back the girl. “You have a crush on that boy, don’t you?” Hanako looked back to Hyori, meeting her intent eyes. “I don’t seem to like her either.” Hyori continued. “She’s even more annoying than you.”

“Thank you?” Hanako raised an eyebrow, not knowing if to take her comment as an insult or actually as a compliment. Hyori flashed her a bright smile.   

“You know, I think we had a rough start.” Hyori stretched her hand towards her. “Maybe someday we can be friends.” Hanako looked at the hand uncertain before slowing reaching to it.

“Are you okay? A few minutes ago you were threatening me.”

“A few minutes ago I didn’t know that you had such handsome friends.” Hyori looked at Itachi once again, Hanako just rolled her eyes.

“I see what this is about.” She muttered, letting go of the Senju’s hand. Hyori turned to her once again and laughed.

“I’m just kidding!” She smiled brightly. “I’d like to get to know you, Hanako. I mean, I was pissed at the fact that you cheated and caught me on a Genjutsu, and made fun of me afterwards, because you were ‘oh so good’ to fight me fair and square.” Hanako chuckled at this, making Hyori smile again. “But then again, I’m strong, you said so yourself! So I guess that behind that tough girl façade there’s actually a nice and kind girl. Plus, it’s not in my nature to be mad at someone for long. Call me bipolar, I can be rude to someone and in the next five minutes treat him or her as if were friends forever.” Hanako smiled at her.

“I was right about you,” she said. “You are definitely weird.” Hyori chuckled.

“But still,” she continued. “Don’t think that I’ll let you win over me.” She frowned, still wearing her smile on her face. “We can be friends, but besides that, I want us to be rivals.”

“Rivals?” Hanako raised both her eyebrows in surprise.

“Yes!” Hyori exclaimed excited. “Senju and Uchiha. I guess it was meant to be, don’t you think?”

“Hn,” Hanako smirked. “I guess it could be.” They bumped their fists still smiling.

“I won’t lose against you.” Hyori said.

“Same here.” The Uchiha replied with a sincere smile. “And, for the record, I don’t have a crush on Itachi.”

 


	17. The First Test

_“Alright, brats, it’s_ time for the test to begin!” The voice of a man could be heard from the back of the classroom. Everyone turned to it to find a tall man with a bunch of gray uniformed Chunnin standing beside him. “The name’s Ibiki Morino, and I’ll be the proctor of the first test,” he announced with an evil smirk. Hanako could notice that a lot of people standing around them trembled slightly and gulped at the proctor’s face. “To start, hand over your signed forms and we’ll give you a card with a number. That number will be your assigned seat for the exam,” he finished saying. Nobody moved. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get in line!” Without losing a moment, they all lined up to hand in the forms. “Once you’re all ready, I’ll begin explaining the rules,” Ibiki added.

Hanako was the last member from her team to exchange a form for a card. She noticed that Ibiki would keep looking at her curiously, and when she returned the glare, he would smirk and turn away. As expected, she was assigned a seat far away from her teammates. Takeshi was four seats in front of her, and Kazuki was completely at the other side of the classroom, away from them. There were three rows of desks, each desk long enough to fit three people. Kazuki was on the right row while Takeshi and Hanako were in the left row. Hanako also noticed that Itachi was sitting two seats behind her, in the middle row. He noticed her stare and looked back at her with a smile. Hanako looked away without doing anything, trying to keep the blush away from her cheeks. She could also feel a pair of eyes burning the back of her neck and she looked over her shoulder. Koharu was sitting right behind her, sending her a death glare. Hanako ignored her, and turned around.

“Careful,” she heard a voice mutter into her ear. Hanako looked around for its owner, and found Hyori walking past her to the last seat in her row. She looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Hyori just smirked and pointed towards the proctor in the front of the class. He was staring at the Uchiha silently, waiting for everyone to sit still in their places. Hanako narrowed her eyes at him. Ibiki only cleared his throat, calling everyone’s attention.

“Fine, now that we’re all ready I’ll explain the rules,” he said as he turned his back to everyone and wrote a big ten on the chalk board. “Each and every one of you will begin having a total of ten points. The test consists of ten questions, one point for each question, and it’s based on the reduction of those points. One wrong answer means one point less. That would mean that if anyone gets all ten questions right, he or she will be having ten points as a final score. If anyone misses three questions, then they will be having seven points as a final score. Success or failure depends on the total points the team gets as a whole. Besides that, the participants are not allowed, under any circumstance, to fight each other during the test unless allowed by the supervisors here.” He motioned to the Chunnin behind him.

Hanako smirked slightly, and looked over her shoulder at the Genin behind her. “Sorry about that…” Koharu snarled back at her and Hanako chuckled before turning away.

“Breaking that rule would mean an immediate failure,” Ibiki raised his voice, his eyes glued to Hanako Uchiha, who looked back at him with a smirk plastered on her face. “And don’t even think about copying once you receive your test. If one of the supervisors busts you, you will be punished with the removal of two points from your final score, for every time. They won’t tell you if they bust you, so beware.” Ibiki smirked. “You could be left in zero without even realizing it and you’ll fail.” He chuckled, “If you’re busted five times, you and your teammates fail.”

Hanako could feel her muscles tense. Failing meant points would be taken away, but yet… The girl looked up at the man in front of the class. Class… it was like some lame test in the Academy, but harder. For once, he wasn’t looking at her. It was like he _wanted_ them to copy; instead of failing them immediately, they would only take away points. They were giving them five chances at copying.

“Do we fail when we reach zero, then?” Hanako asked loudly, not even bothering to raise her hand as they were instructed back in school. “Or how much do we need to pass?”

Ibiki smirked. “Asking the important questions here, I see,” he commented. “Why would you ask that? Are you intending to put your minimum effort required to pass?” he raised an eyebrow.

Hanako sighed. “I was just asking a question.”

“I never said you could ask a question.”

“Can I ask a question, then, Ibiki-sensei?” Hanako inquired back, retreating into her seat. “I am very concerned about your answer.”

Ibiki smirked again. He could notice that everyone was looking intently at him, waiting for an explanation. “You pass as long as none of your teammates gets a zero, does that work for you?”

Hanako smiled. Did that mean she only had to answer one question? One question and she would be allowed out of there, successfully passing the test. Ibiki was right, she intended on putting her minimum effort into it. “Yes sir. Very much, thank you.”

“You have an hour to answer the test. Good luck,” he said in a final tone, turning away from the class. Every one turned the paper upside down. Hanako skidded her eyes from top to bottom, numbers from one to nine were written in line. But there was no ten. The Uchiha frowned.

“Excuse me,” another participant called before she did. “Sir, there are only nine questions here.” The girl turned her paper around and then looked at Ibiki with expectant eyes.

“In forty-five minutes I will deliver the final question,” Ibiki said. “Orally.” He finally walked towards his desk and sat down. “You may begin.”

Hanako looked around. All the Chunnin supervisors were sitting in rows at both sides of the classroom, and each of them looked at the participants with keen eyes, waiting for them to make a movement. Hanako locked eyes with one of them, and he smirked. He then looked at boy beside her, and wrote something in his clipboard.

Hanako looked at her neighbor from the tip of her eye. When he noticed, he immediately looked away to his own his paper. He had been watching her test, even though it was still blank. Hanako chuckled and looked back at the Chunnin, he was still smirking in her way. He was very observant, indeed. Copying in the old ways wouldn’t work at all, she would have to be creative if she intended to.

She focused on her paper and read the questions. They were extremely complicated for a Genin to answer. Hanako chuckled and rested over the table, closing her eyes. Just by staring at them, she could guess they weren’t meant to be answered. So, why would she waste her time in it?

Something sparkled behind her, and Hanako opened her eyes again. She decided to ignore it and closed her eyes once again. It sparkled again and Hanako could feel someone watching her. She couldn’t just brush it away, it felt like a tingling sensation that moved all over her back. Hanako sat up and opened her eyes. Was it one of the supervisors glaring at her for suddenly falling asleep? They shouldn’t even mind, right?

When she was sure none of the supervisors was looking at her, she turned to look over her shoulder. Her eyes immediately fell on Itachi, who was looking straight at her with the Sharingan.

Her eyes widened, and suddenly everyone was gone. There was no one in the classroom except for them. Itachi was writing something on a paper, then he crumpled it into a ball and threw it in her direction. Hanako caught it swiftly, silently wondering what was going on. “Open it,” he said casually, not caring if the supervisor heard him. Hanako closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The supervisors couldn’t listen to him because they weren’t there.

Hanako unwrinkled the paper and her eyes widened. Itachi had written all the answers of the test for her. When she looked back at where Itachi had been, she found an empty place. She was alone.

Hanako jerked —waking up in a second— and bit her tongue when almost all supervisors looked at her with intent eyes. No one else seemed to notice, except for the two boys sitting on either side of her. She was so close to falling asleep, and that had to happen. Was she dreaming about Itachi giving her the answers?

No. She wasn’t. Or else they wouldn’t be burnt into the back of her mind as they were. Hanako could close her eyes, and the answers would be there, easy for her to read. She started to write what she saw on her paper, when she heard graphite being forced repeatedly against the clipboards. Hanako looked at the supervisor she had seen previously, and he was looking at the boy beside her with the same smirk he had before. Hanako continued writing an answer, without prying her eyes from the supervisor. What was he looking at?

The Chunnin grinned wider, and wrote again in his clipboard. Next thing, he took a kunai out of his pouch. Hanako widened her eyes as he swung his wrist in her direction. Hanako retreated until her back hit the back of the chair; the kunai flew past her and nailed in the paper of the boy beside her. The one the supervisor had been eyeing for a while.

The boy stood up and eyed the supervisor with questioning eyes. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

Hanako sighed relieved. It could have been her paper he was aiming at. He was definitely trying to scare her by throwing it at her; he knew she was going to move away. But what if she hadn’t moved on time? They were already treating them like Chunnin, measuring how much they would endure it.

Hanako looked at the supervisor, he was still looking at the Genin with mocking eyes. “Number thirty, failed.” The boy widened his eyes and his jaw dropped.

“What?”

“I caught you copying from number twenty-nine a total of five times. I’ve reduced all ten points from you already, so there’s no reason for you to remain here. You and the rest of your team have failed, get out.” The boy clicked his tongue and walked out, following by his other two comrades.

The supervisor’s eyes then met Hanako’s and he smirked at her. “What are you looking at, number twenty-nine?” he asked. “You shouldn’t be letting others copy from your test.”

“You don’t reduce points from letting others copy from me, do you?” she snapped back, not controlling what came out of her mouth.

“No talking,” Ibiki glared at Hanako, and she retreated back to her test. She tried to focus on the answers in her head, but she still couldn’t understand what had happened. Unconsciously, she looked again at the Chunnin. He was back at writing names in his clipboard. But he was still smirking. Hanako looked over shoulder, Koharu snapped her eyes back at her.

“What are you looking at?” she mouthed at her. Hanako looked away, and her eyes landed on Itachi. He was sitting quietly, resting his chin on his hand as he looked out the window, even if he was sitting in the middle row. His test lay forgotten on the desk in front of him, as if he had finished it a long time ago.

Feeling her stare on him, he looked at her. And he smiled, “You’re welcome,” he mouthed, and looked away back at the window.

Hanako looked back at her test and closed her eyes. She didn’t imagine it, Itachi did give her the answers, through Genjutsu most probably. But if she had been sleeping, she didn’t even look at him. Only before the test, but there was no possible way she could have been under the influence of an illusion during the entire explanation of the rules. She would have felt it.

It happened when she rested on the table and closed her eyes. That’s when she felt that sparkling sensation, it was his chakra entering her body and messing with her mind, burning the answers into her head. Hanako didn’t know what to do. She had the answers, and she wrote one of them in her paper, managing to get her neighbor expelled. But still she didn’t want Itachi’s answers to be on her exam. Even if the test was meant to copy, she couldn’t write answers that were given to her. If she had to copy, she would do it on her own. She didn’t need Itachi to do it for her.

Hanako bit her lip and frowned. Why did he do that? Did he realize he was helping someone from another team? Why was he doing that? She was so confused.

Hanako shook her head and tried to ignore every answer in her mind, but they were all correct. Would she be an idiot if she discarded every correct answer for ones that might be wrong?

 

* * *

 

Itachi observed the hill from across the window pane. He had already finished the exam and now he only had to wait until the proctor announced the time was up. His mind was still wrapped around the mission Hanako had given her the day before.

_Itachi sat in the table with the girl. She was so focused in her manga book that she barely noticed his presence. “Can I sit with you?” Itachi asked nervously. “There are no more tables available…” The girl looked at him with curious eyes and smiled shyly._

_“Uh…sure…” She then looked around, away from him, and blushed slightly. “You are…the leader’s son…Itachi-kun, right?” Itachi pressed his lips. Hanako had been right, the girl knew who he was, but he failed to recognize her._

_Itachi looked back at Hanako. She was watching him keenly, still smiling. Itachi turned back to the girl, she had not turned to look at him. “Yes, I am,” he replied. “Who are you?”_

_The girl was stunned. “I am…I am no one important…” she looked at him with a shy smile. “I am just happy I got to meet you in person. They say you’re outstanding, Itachi-kun…” Itachi sighed. He didn’t like it when people praised him._

_He sensed movement and Hanako was suddenly sitting beside him with a cute smile. She had dragged a chair and sat along with them in the table. Itachi had never seen her seem so amicable, but he knew Izumi talked about Hanako being a good person, why was she so cold at times then? Had it been because of her father’s death?_

_“Akame Ga Kill?” Hanako read the cover of the manga the girl was reading. “I’ve read it… my favorite character is Akame. I love how she can put away her feelings, she doesn’t let them intervene with her job. And her swordsmanship is amazing also. What’s yours?” she asked suddenly. Itachi looked at her with confusion, what was she doing?_

_Surprisingly, the girl smiled. “Leone, she’s just so fierce. I admire how brave she is, how she doesn’t stop to think twice about saving her friends.”_

_“You can be brave too.” Hanako smiled. “My name is Hanako, you are?”_

_“Mayumi…” she muttered lightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Hanako-san.”_

_“I agree. So, is Itachi here bothering you? I can give him a few lessons if you’d like.” Hanako smiled, putting her arm around the boy. “We girls ought to have each other’s backs.”_

_“No,” Mayumi laughed slightly. “He was just sitting here.” She closed the book and stood up. “Well, I have to go. My mother is probably expecting me now. I hope we meet again.” She bowed at them one last time before she turned around and left._

_Hanako let go of Itachi, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “So, what did you figure out about her?” she asked._

_“Her name is Mayumi, she is about our age so she must be in the Academy. She doesn’t look like a Shinobi though, she mustn’t be very good.”_

_“The Uchiha often force their children into becoming warriors, even those who don’t want to be.” Hanako looked at Itachi. “She is a Shinobi, but she doesn’t want to be one. She is reading a manga about revolution. The protagonist joined an organization of assassins who seek to overthrow the empire. Mayumi wants to change the obligations of the Clan, she doesn’t want to be threatened into becoming something she is not. She might seem shy, but she is actually just keeping to herself.”_

_Itachi widened his eyes. “That’s why she wouldn’t tell me who she was, because I’m the leader’s son.”_

_“That’s correct. In your position, it’s hard to talk to people, but if you continue to avoid everyone, you are giving them reasons not to trust you.” Hanako sighed. “When you want to know something about someone, you don’t have to pay attention just to what they say. You also have to pay attention to what they don’t say. Their actions, what they’re holding in their hands, how they are holding it. All those small details say a lot about people.”_

Itachi smiled, he was still looking at the window but from time to time he would sneak glances at Hanako. He was going to put into practice what she had told him, and he would gather as much information as he could about her.

 

* * *

 

Hanako rested her forehead on the test. “I don’t know what to do…” she muttered. She had been wasting her time deciding whether she should change her answers or not. 

“I get you…” a boy at her side commented. Hanako looked at him from the tip of her eyes, careful not to be seen by the supervisors. He looked at her slightly and then back at his test. “I have answers one through five,” he said. “What do you have?”

“All of them.” She closed her eyes. “But I don’t want to write them down, because I didn’t do anything to get them…”

He looked at her strangely. “Okay… how about I use your six through nine, and you use my one through five? Or two through five, since you have number one answered already…” he looked at her for a moment, before writing scribbles the top of his test.

“Isn’t it the same, not doing anything?”

“We’re bargaining,” he smirked. “It is a way of gathering information.”

Hanako opened her eyes and looked at him slightly. “I guess you could say that…” she scribbled the answers from six through nine and then moved her paper towards him. ‘ _They won’t reduce points if I give him my paper_ ,’ she thought while looking intently at the Chunnin. He was only smirking at her before looking around the class. He didn’t write anything on his clipboard. Hanako then pulled her neighbor’s test towards her, and scribbled once again the answers six through nine. “Ah, the magic of loop holes,” she commented silently while finishing the last answer. Meanwhile, the boy beside her wrote the answers from two to five on her test.

When they were both done, they switched tests again. Hanako observed the Chunnin supervisors, none of them seemed to suspect a thing. Hanako felt a gaze on the back of her head, and she looked over her shoulder at Itachi. He was staring at her, not angry, but curious. Hanako just smirked and looked back to the front. She hoped that her teammates had managed to answer the test.

“Well, I guess it’s time for the last question,” Ibiki called, standing up from his desk. “But first, I will give you two options. You can choose whether or not you want to answer the last question.”

“WHAT?!” Everyone yelled loudly.

“If you choose not to answer, your score will be reduced to zero and you will fail along the rest of your team. But if you decide to answer it and you get it wrong…” He smirked. “You’ll fail and will not be allowed to apply for the Chunnin Exams, _ever_.”

Hanako flinched. At least one fourth of the room was already kicked out and now they had to choose whether or not they wanted to answer the last question. Being a Genin forever was totally unattractive, but they had to take the risk. It was just one question, it couldn’t be that difficult. _‘Come on guys,’_ Hanako thought. _‘Don’t give up!’_

“I’m out!” one of the participants stood up in a second and along him, many others walked out the classroom. After a couple of minutes, only half of the group, that originally came to apply, remained.

“Is that all?” Ibiki asked while eyeing one last time at all the present participants. “In that case…you all…” He narrowed his eyes. “FAIL.”

Hanako’s muscles all tensed up upon hearing it. They had failed?

People slowly stood up, and one by one left the room. Hanako didn’t move from her place, instead she clenched her hands into fists and trembled furiously. Everything they had done to get there, how hard they had worked themselves, only to be _failed_.

Hanako smacked her hand on the table, and stood up. “I refuse to accept that!” Hanako said loudly while looking at the proctor with challenging eyes. Everyone froze on their spots and turned to look at her as if she were crazy, but she didn’t mind. If they wanted to spend their entire lives as Genin, they could do it, but not her.

“Is that so?” Ibiki walked up to her, standing right in front of her table.

“That’s a stupid rule,” Hanako gritted her teeth.

Ibiki chuckled. “Hanako Uchiha…” he hissed slowly, making the girl frown. “Should I be surprised? …the famed troublemaker who graduated early from the Academy, of course you would be the first to protest.”

“You can’t just fail us like that!” Hanako’s words were loud enough to cause an echo in the classroom. Everything was silent for a moment, until the faint sound of Ibiki’s chuckling could be heard. Hanako’s eyes widened, was he laughing at her?

“That’s too bad for you.” He looked at her straight in the eyes. “This year, I make up the rules.” The smirk decorating his face made the Uchiha’s blood boil, but she just chuckled. She found the irony of the situation oddly comical.

“That’s fine by me,” she challenged. “You want me to play by your rules? Fine. I’ll play by your rules, but this game is not over.” Ibiki raised both his eyebrows in surprise. “All of us, sitting right here —in this classroom—, are here with a purpose.” Hanako narrowed her eyes. “You are just an obstacle, Ibiki-sensei. I know who you are. I know you torture people. I know you play with their minds until they become insane.” Hanako smiled. “I do just about the same, and I won’t stop until I find that tiny little detail that makes everything fall apart. I will move through your words until I find something I can use against you. I know you said at the beginning of the exam that fighting was not allowed, but if I have to beat you so that everyone passes the test, I will. Even if that means I fail.”

“All right then, Miss Uchiha.” Ibiki, smiling, walked away from her desk. “Thank you for your demonstration. You pass the first test, you may stay here.” Hanako stood aback.

“What?”

“Being a Chunnin is all about leadership, being a guide to the rest of the team,” he said, looking at all the participants. “To be a leader, you have to be courageous. And you, Uchiha, have maybe a little bit too much courage.” He smirked, looking at her. Hanako scoffed, but she was smiling. “You have proved yourself to have the courage to continue, but how about the rest of you?” he looked at the other participants. “Will you follow her example? Are you sure you are ready to continue even if that means your _death_?”

“YES, WE ARE!” Ibiki smiled.

“Five minutes ago you all looked like scared little puppies with their tails stuck in between their legs. And now, with all that determination you can almost set this room on fire.”

“Don’t tempt me…” Hanako sat back down in her place.

“Alright,” Ibiki grinned widely. “Congratulations, all of you who stayed, you’re all officially approved.”

All the class elevated in a single chorus. “We did it! We did it!” Hanako smiled when she heard everyone yell in excitement. Hanako then noticed that Ibiki was approaching her. 

“Hanako?” he asked, looking at her seriously. “Can I have a word with you?” Hanako looked at Kazuki who was yelling at Takeshi for leaving the exam blank.

“Sure,” she looked at the proctor. “What is it, sensei?”

Ibiki sighed. “You are different from all of them,” he said. “You seem to understand what it’s like, the real world. I’m sorry about your father.” Hanako looked down. “I’m not supposed to comment this, but I know what happened. Use that experience as a lesson, and never forget that sometimes these things happen and you can’t blame yourself.” Hanako nodded. “You will do well in these exams, do it for the ones you care about. Do it for yourself, and become a Chunnin.” He patted her shoulder and turned away.

Hanako looked at his retreating figure until she felt someone behind her. “What did he want?” asked Itachi.

Hanako shrugged. “He was just wishing good luck, I guess…” she turned to look at him. “Why did you give me your answers? I didn’t ask for them.”

“I thought you were in trouble, you seemed distressed after looking at the exam.”

Hanako scoffed. “How would you know that?”

“Because I was looking at you.” Hanako raised an eyebrow. “You told me, you have to pay attention to what people don’t say.”

“Did you know you’re creepy when you tell people you’re looking at them?” Itachi widened his eyes and looked away.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Hanako laughed.

“It’s okay, thank you,” she said. “Next time, though, don’t. I want to do it on my own. If I need your help, I’ll let you know.” Itachi looked at her.

Takeshi and Kazuki hurried towards Hanako. “We did it!” Takeshi threw his arms at the brunette, but she ducked just in time. Takeshi hit the ground, hard. “OW!”

Hanako rolled her eyes. “Should I say I owe this one to you?” Hyori approached the group, looking at the girl with a smile.

“Call us even after that beat up I gave you,” Hanako smiled back.

“Shut up,” Hyori laughed.

“It’s not the time to be celebrating. You may have passed the first test, but the exam isn’t over yet.” They were all surprised to hear a voice in the classroom, before a cloud of smoke appeared next to Ibiki. When the smoke faded, a black haired teenager smiled at everyone. Hanako immediately recognized him.

“Shisui?!”

He looked at her, and then back at the crowd. “Yes. My name is Shisui Uchiha and I’ll be the proctor for your second test. Tomorrow morning, I’ll let your Jounin tutor know the exact time and location you’ll have to meet me. Then I’ll explain what the test will be about. Congratulations for completing the first test.” He then turned to Ibiki. “Don’t tell me you were soft with them, Ibiki.” He smirked. “I was expecting less than the ones here, given your reputation and all.”

Ibiki shrugged. “That, or these brats are really something. However, the first test is officially finished, you’re dismissed.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Shisui announced. “And I expect you to be prepared for anything that I may have prepared for you.” He smiled evilly. “You really have no idea of what awaits you.” He then disappeared.

Hanako looked at her friends. “Make sure to sleep well tonight,” she said. “Knowing Shisui, this won’t be good.”

 

* * *

 

Hanako felt the cold wind collide against her back, at the same time it swayed her hair in random ways as it pleased. “We passed the first test,” she tried to say it with a little bit more of excitement, but —surprisingly— her voice came out blunt and void of any kind of emotion.

She was standing in the middle of the Third Training Ground, in front of the Memorial Stone. She just stood there —staring steadily at her father’s name engraved in it— telling him about what happened since he died.

“I’m sorry I haven’t visited.” Hanako took a deep breath. “I just have… too much going on in my mind.” There was no answer. It wasn’t like she was expecting one, though, stones didn’t talk.

Next to her father’s name, another one called her attention: Obito Uchiha. Hanako lifted her hand and reached for the stone, brushing her fingers over his engraved name. A frown made its way to her face. Why did that name sound so familiar? Was he someone she used to know?

“You seem troubled.” Hanako’s body tensed at the sudden voice. “Was he important to you?” he asked again. His voice was deep and calm, as if he wanted to let her know he meant no harm but at the same time he wasn’t someone she should mess with. Hanako turned her head sideways to look at him.

He was a young man, not much older than Shisui. He was wearing the ANBU uniform, —a silver armor covering his thorax and silver arm protectors, a tattoo on his right arm— but not the mask. Not like he needed one though, he already had a black tissue­­­­­­­ covering the lower half of his face. “Who are you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. The man came closer until he stood right next to her; his eyes were glued to the stone and her hand lingering over a certain name.

“Did you know him?” he spoke again. Hanako pulled her hand back and looked at the ground. She didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. Hanako looked at him.

“I came here for someone else,” she pursed her lips. The man’s eyes were slightly hidden under a lock of his silver hair covering his forehead. She frowned. “Are you okay?” He didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached his hand to the name her hand was previously on.

“You’re from the Uchiha, I can tell for the crest on your back.” He turned his head to look at the girl. “There aren’t many names from the Uchiha on the stone. We may be mourning for the same person.”

“Maybe…” Hanako’s eyes drifted back to the stone. “Or maybe not.” She closed them as she took in a deep breath. “The Uchiha tend to honor their deaths in a different manner than the rest of the Village does. The names of the Uchiha on the stone are there because someone not from the Uchiha thought that they should be there, because they were heroes to them.” Hanako as if she really knew what she was saying but, actually, she had no idea. Maybe that was what she hoped for. She reached her hand to Obito’s name, next to the man’s hand. “I’m here for my father, Yusuke Uchiha.” She looked at his hand. “And you’re here for the person whose name is next to his.”

“He was my best friend.” Hanako heard his tired voice once again. However, this time it was…different. Like he was alone, desolated; looking for someone he could open to. It seemed he had chosen Hanako to be that someone. “I always taunted him, chastised him about being late, told him that he would never be an elite like the rest of his clan because he didn’t act like it. I thought that I was always teaching him a lesson. But the truth is,” he paused for a second and took a deep breath. “He was actually the one who ended teaching the most important lesson to me.” Hanako didn’t know what to say, so she just remained silent for what felt like hours. He just stood there, staring blankly at Obito’s name without saying anything, without doing anything.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Hanako repeated the same words he said to her earlier. Maybe that’s what he wanted to hear, and maybe that’s why he approached her in the first place, so he wouldn’t feel like he was alone. He didn’t reply. At first, she thought that it was because he didn’t hear her, but she knew he heard her. And, somehow, she knew that he was thankful, although he didn’t show it.

“You’re a Genin, aren’t you?” Hanako only nodded as she pulled back her hand, her eyes drifted slowly over his figure. “Are you on the Chunnin Exams?” She nodded again. “Good.” He nodded back, before turning on his heels in a swift movement. “You know, they say the second test is always the hardest. Good luck.” And with that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Hanako blinked a couple of times before turning her head back to the stone. She felt a smile tugging at her lips.

“Did you see that, Father?” she asked as she let out a muffled laugh. “All that talk and he didn’t even tell me his name.”

 

* * *

 

Hanako and her team stood in front of a large metallic fence, with some other Genin scattered around them. That, Kaito told them, was supposed to be the designated location for the second exam.

“So, this is the forty-fourth training ground…” Takeshi mumbled as sweat rolled down his temple.

“It seems…interesting,” Hanako replied. The fence had lots of gates, all numbered from one to forty-four. On the main entry, there was a large precaution sign painted in yellow, hinting them about the danger it held. There was a wooden post in which three Chunnin seated comfortably, looking at them completely amused. Leaning against a nearby tree stood Shisui, who upon seeing them straightened himself.

“So, now that you’re all here…” He eyed everyone the same way Ibiki did with them during the first test. “It’s time to begin with the second stage,” he smirked evilly, making Hanako feel shivers run down her spine. “Welcome,” his grin widened, “to the Forest of Death.”


	18. The Forest of Death

_All the present_ observed the stage of the second test. Through the metallic fence, they could observe the big gnarled trees, so dense that the forest looked dark with barely any clearings. Everyone was nervous, including Hanako and her friends. She felt the cold sweat in her hands and gulped before seeing Shisui preparing to explain what the test would be about.

“F-Forest of D-Death?!” one of the participants shouted. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked in a lower voice but equally scared. Shisui smirked. 

“It means that...” he seemed to ponder a little bit but then shook his head. “Well, they gave it this name for a reason. But you’ll figure it out soon.”

“Yeah, and that makes me feel slightly better.” Kazuki commented as he watched the boy who asked the question; he was stepping backwards, looking at the forest with wide and scared eyes. Hanako nodded at his statement without taking her eyes off the boy. Seeing how scared he was made her wonder if that place was really as bad as it looked. Hanako stared at the village protector on his forehead. It had a big stone in it with a smaller one beside it, he was from Iwagakure.

For a moment, Hanako saw in her mind the images of the Iwagakure ninjas that ambushed her and her father’s team near the border with Kusagakure and she shivered. She had to focus on something else. This wasn’t going to be like that time. None of them was going to die there.

“Well, it’s time for me to explain this test,” Shisui said, finally calling everyone’s attention. This time he was serious. “To begin, there are two types of scrolls.” Shisui showed them the two scrolls that he was holding, one on each hand. “This is the Earth scroll,” he said as he lifted the blue scroll that he had in his left hand. It had a white stripe in the middle with a big kanji of “earth” [地] written on it. “And this is the Heaven scroll.” He lowered the Earth scroll as he lifted the other one he had in his right hand. This one was white, with a lighter shade of a white stripe and the kanji for “heaven” [天] written on it. “Each team will be given one of these scrolls, either Earth or Heaven. Your mission consists in completing a set of scrolls. A set meaning one Earth  _and_  one Heaven scroll.” He lifted the scrolls again as he emphasized the word ‘and’. In other words, they would be given one scroll but they needed both. “When you get both scrolls, you must rush towards the tower in the middle of the forest.”

“Wait a second.” Takeshi muttered as he bit his lip, thinking about something. “If each team will be having at the beginning only one scroll, and we need both to be able to go to the tower, then it means that at least the half of the teams won’t have any scrolls by the end of the test…” he said as he slowly processed what Shisui just said.

 “Wow Takeshi you’re a genius.” Kazuki muttered, faking his amazement. “I didn’t think about that...” Takeshi glared at him.

“Shut up...” Hanako told them before they started arguing in the middle of the explanation. Shisui heard this and his face formed an evil smirk.

“Half of you passing would be an overstatement,” he added with his smirk. “This forest counts with a twenty kilometer diameter and the tower is situated in the center,” Shisui explained as he tossed the scrolls he had in his hands to one of the Chunnin next to him. “As you may have noticed, there are numbered entrances, from one to forty-four. When you receive your scroll you will also be assigned a random entrance. Any questions?” All of them shook their heads. “Good. Now, on with the rules,” Shisui said as he cracked his knuckles. “First, you have five days to complete the task. It is eight in the morning, we will give you a break so you guys can think of a strategy before going inside and, as we hand the scrolls and the assigned entrances, you might be going inside at about three o’clock. The test will be over in five days from today at three o’clock. If you arrive at the tower after the set time, you’ll be disqualified.” Shisui smirked. “Second, when you arrive to the tower, if you do, the team must be complete, safe and sound, with no severe injuries of any kind that would not let you continue. If one member dies or isn’t okay to continue, the team will be automatically disqualified.” His grin was starting to scare Hanako a bit. “And last but not least, it is strictly forbidden,” he narrowed his eyes as he said this. “To check the content of the scrolls. That could bring grave consequences, without mentioning that you’d be immediately disqualified.” His voice had become deep and scary, but he quickly shook it off and smiled again. “I’ll give you a form to sign before the test. You will then exchange it for the scroll. Good luck.”’

One of the Chunnin started to hand out forms. When Hanako received hers, she sighed. It was a form that would excuse the Village in case any of the participants died inside the forest. Takeshi and Kazuki were standing one next to the other, reading the paper. They all signed their forms and sat down next to a big boulder.

After a while, everyone was starting to get nervous and walk around trying to focus their minds in something else that wasn’t the forest. Hanako caught sight of Itachi, he was walking away from his team and then sat alone near the fence. Hanako was interrupted from her staring when someone sat down next to her. Hyori. Hanako looked at her and raised an eyebrow.       

“Do I need to say something?” she asked as she looked sideways at Itachi. Hanako looked at her in confusion. Hyori rolled her eyes. “Go talk to him. Ask him if he’s ready, wish him good luck, I don’t know.” She shrugged before pulling her up with her and then pushing her towards the Uchiha boy. Hanako turned to her with a frown, but Hyori had already sat back down and started conversing with Kazuki and Takeshi. Hanako bit her lip. She kind of owed it to Itachi, he had been kind to her, and so she should be to him. She could talk to him, just some trivial chat, they were friends after all, weren’t they?

Itachi had his eyes closed and his breath was steady, like if he was meditating. Hanako approached him and quietly sat beside him. He didn’t move, he just sat still with his eyes closed. Hanako raised an eyebrow. “Are you meditating, or just sleeping in a very uncomfortable position?” she asked. Itachi opened of his eyes to look at her.

“This isn’t an uncomfortable position,” he said, closing his eye once again.

“Then you _are_ sleeping,” Hanako felt a smile tugging at her lips. “Didn’t you have enough rest last night? Let me guess, you stayed up late training again.” She shook her head. “You’re such an idiot, didn’t I tell you to rest?”

“I’m not sleeping,” Itachi opened his eyes with a small smirk. “I’m planning a strategy, something you should also be doing.”

Hananko grinned. “My team and I are more of the type to adapt to the situation,” she said. “Besides, things not always go as planned, so why waste my time on it?” Itachi chuckled.

“You should plan things, that way you’ll be prepared for any possible outcome.” He shrugged. “Just a small advice.”

“Oh, I have a plan,” Hanako shrugged. “Attack other teams and take their scrolls.” Itachi sighed.

“And if you face _my_ team? You think you can defeat us and take our scroll?” he asked looking intently at her.

“I do have some pending business with your teammate,” Hanako smiled. “That girl got into my bad nerves; I’ve got to put her in her place.” Itachi tilted his head.

“Koharu? What did she do to make you mad?” he asked curiously.

Hanako looked down. “Well, she was rude to us. And I told her that if she thought she was stronger than us, then she should prove it.” When Hanako looked back at him, she almost blushed at the look he was giving her. It wasn’t a particularly special look; he was just looking at her. But it was the first time she got to see the detail in his frame. She remembered Izumi saying Itachi was the cutest boy in their generation, and she couldn’t help but to agree with her.

“Cute…” she mumbled unconsciously, and looked away with a blush when she realized what she had said. Itachi just stared at her dumbfounded. “I am not afraid of facing you, or your team,” said Hanako, going back to the previous subject. “I will beat you if I have to, for the scroll.”

Itachi chuckled. “Fine, I’m also not afraid of fighting you,” he said. “Let the best one win.” Hanako smiled, and looked back at him. Itachi stood and offered his hand to help her up. “Also,” he added with a small smile. “I think you’re cute, too.” Hanako froze in her movements and looked at him. But he had turned his back to her and walked away before she could see his face.

“Tsk.” Hanako smirked, “Weird.”

 “It’s time to begin. Line up to hand in the forms and get your scrolls.” Hanako heard Shisui’s voice and turned her head slightly to look at where he was. A glimpse of movement suddenly caught her eyes. She looked at two teams of Iwagakure Genin who were gathered nearby, talking secretively ¾as if they were plotting something. Hanako narrowed her eyes at them.

“Hey, Hana-chan!” Hanako heard Takeshi’s voice and turned her head to him. From the tips of her eyes, she saw that one of the Genin of Iwagakure was staring at her, probably suspecting she had been listening to their conversation. “What are you waiting for?”

“Nothing,” Hanako smirked at the Genin and walked towards her teammate. “I’m coming.”

 

 

Team 4 stood at the entrance number 23 after receiving their scroll. Kazuki had decided he would be the one to keep it, since no one would suspect of him.

“We have the Earth scroll,” Kazuki said. “So we’re only missing Heaven.” He hid the blue scroll in his kunai pouch.

“The first thing will be to figure out who has that scroll,” Takeshi said. They all nodded.

 

* * *

 

Team 3 stood in front of the entrance number 14 after having received the Earth scroll. Hyori looked at her teammates, hiding the scroll in her kunai pouch. They were debating about the teams that might have the Heaven scroll.

“There is already someone I have my sight set on…” Hyori suddenly said, getting into the conversation. Her teammates looked at her with wide eyes.

“Really?” Kaichi raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“If my eyes don’t fool me, Hanako-san and her team have the same scroll as ours. At least that’s what I saw. If we go after them, we’d be wasting our time.” Ren crossed his arms, looking at Hyori seriously.

“I know, I wasn’t talking about them,” Hyori sighed tiredly, thinking of the white scroll that was handed to Itachi’s team. Hyori smiled internally when she thought about the Uchiha boy who Hanako seemed to have a weakness for. “I’m talking about one of the teams we met yesterday before the written test.”

“Koharu’s team?” Kaichi smirked. “Sounds like fun to me.”

“What are you thinking, Hyori?” Ren inquired. “Why them?”

“Because they have a Heaven scroll, why else?” Hyori rolled her eyes. “And because…” A small smile crept into her lips. “I bet she’s heading there too.”

 

* * *

 

“I can’t believe they made us walk here...Couldn’t they assign us a gate a little bit closer to the main entrance? I mean, we walked near three kilometers to get here!” Koharu’s squeaky voice was starting to become annoying, but Team 2 was almost close to their entrance, number 5. They had agreed Koharu would keep the scroll, so Hiroki and Itachi could do the fighting and protect them both.

When they finally reached the location, Koharu kept nagging to the air about why they had made them walk there. “Koharu-san, we are already here so you can stop your whining now,” Itachi said dryly, getting her to finally shut up. He finally relaxed.

“Itachi, are you sure about letting Koharu keep the scroll?” Hiroki gave him a questioning look. Itachi frowned, he thought they had already reached an agreement. “I mean, I noticed that one of the teams was looking at us when they handed us the scroll, and I noticed that they had the Earth scroll. It won’t be long before they come after us,” he finished saying and Itachi sighed.

“Whoever they are, they must be far away from us. Besides, it took us a half hour to get here. If we run at the moment they open the gates, there will be no way they may found us. And if they do, it will be a while before that happens. We’ll have time to think about something.”

“Yes,” Koharu affirmed, “and also remember that we have Itachi-kun in our team. Nothing will happen. If they come after us, he will defeat them, we’ll take the Earth scroll, and we’ll finish the test without breaking a sweat.” Hiroki sighed at their teammate’s overconfidence.

“Fine, if you say so…”

 

* * *

 

“When will they open?” Hanako asked as she watched impatiently the gate. They had been waiting for almost an hour, until a creak was finally heard.

“Now,” Kazuki said after the creaking sound was over and the gate opened. Hanako swallowed hard, and when the gate was totally open she turned to look at her teammates. They looked back at her.

“Shall we?” she asked, trying to calm her nerves. They both nodded and together they got into motion towards the large forest. After a couple of minutes, they stopped.

“Well…what do we do?” Takeshi asked. “We need to look for other teams, maybe hope that they have the Heaven scroll.”

“Leave that to me,” Hanako said and made a hand seal to concentrate her chakra. She closed her eyes and focused on feeling the presence of various teams around them. “The closest team to us is about two miles at two o’clock.” She opened her eyes and looked at her companions. They nodded at her, and started to jump away from branch to branch.

When they approached the team, Hanako signaled her friends to stop and hide on top of the trees to observe the Genin. They were walking and planning how they would look for the scroll they were missing. Unfortunately for them, they were careful enough not to mention which one it was…they weren’t as stupid as they seemed.

Hanako smiled playfully when she felt the urge to fight rise within her insides. This was the Iwagakure team that had asked Shisui about the Forest of Death. However, now they didn’t seem as terrified as they did before. Their attitude towards the place had changed completely, this time their aura emanated pure hatred and disgust. Hanako’s smirk was immediately wiped off her face. Had they been pretending their cowardice from earlier?

The three ninjas halted abruptly, making Team 4 believe they had been noticed. They go into their fighting stances. Hanako relaxed when she realized that they hadn’t. One of the Genin was shaking, and his muscles suddenly tensed. He closed his hand into tight fists and gathered chakra into them, just to release it all at once when his fist came in contact with the ground, causing it to crater. Hanako’s eyes widened; she made a mental note not to ever let this guy land a hit on her.

“Isao-san?” another Genin from the team spoke to him. Suddenly worried about his sudden reaction.

“I hate this stupid village…this village that has left Iwagakure in shame since the Third Shinobi World War…” Isao stood up and spoke, this time with a much darker and resent filled voice. They all started to talk among themselves, without taking notice of them. Team 4 remained silent, listening carefully to their conversation. Maybe they had something to do with the other two teams from Iwagakure conspiring together, or that’s what Hanako hoped.

 “You don’t mean it’s because of your father, right? Because, I mean... There’s no way to blame someone in particular—” Isao started laughing as he turned toward his teammate with a twisted smile.

 _‘For a thirteen-year-old, this guy is really scary,’_ Hanako thought as she tried to regulate her breathing.

“You think I’m a fool? Tomoya...it’s crystal clear that someone of this village did it... After all, they were trying to retreat a Konoha scroll that had been stolen. The village has to take back what belongs to it, doesn’t it? The only thing I have to do is find the one who did it, so I can take my revenge.” Isao turned around, his back to his teammates. “It has to be a Jounin...” he tightened his fists once again. “Not anyone can burn a whole town down to ashes...and a fire technique of that level can only be reached by a...”

Hanako stopped listening; she knew what he was talking about. A Konoha scroll, Iwagakure Shinobi, a town and a ninja who burned it down to ashes… Isao was looking for revenge…on _her_. _She_ was the one who killed his father; he died on that fire that _she_ caused. He was looking for her. But he just didn’t know that.

Hanako pursed her lips, thinking about what would happen if Isao realized that she was the one to blame. She didn’t get to deepen her thoughts since Isao had gathered chakra into his fist, and with all his might he hit the trunk she was hiding on, making it tremble. The force of the hit made the tree break in half and fall down to the ground, taking the Uchiha with it. Hanako landed on her back and released a low groan. She then felt a hard breeze hit her face. When she opened her eyes, they widened as she noticed that a closed fist was right before her face, just a few inches away. Hanako looked beyond it to find Isao looking down at her with a twisted smile. Hanako felt chills run down her back.

“It looks like we have found a spy,” Isao’s grin widened. “Girl, if you give me your scroll, I’ll let you go…” he seemed to ponder for a moment. “After you promise you’ll keep your mouth shut,” he added as his eyes fixated on the Konoha symbol in her headband.

“Hanako!” She heard Takeshi shout, and her two teammates came out of their hiding spots, landing right behind Isao’s team. Hanako’s eyes widened when she saw Takeshi holding a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it.

“Don’t!” Hanako yelled, but it was already too late. Kazuki had disappeared from her sight and Takeshi nailed the kunai right where Isao’s team was, making them scatter. Isao finally let go of the Uchiha. At the same time, Hanako felt someone had gripped her arm and pulled her away from the kunai, only seconds before it exploded. Hanako covered herself with her free hand from the shockwave that pushed them back a few meters.

“Are you okay?” Hanako heard a voice beside her ear and turned her face to it. Kazuki was lying on the floor beside her, panting. His hand was still wrapped tightly around her arm. Hanako could hear footsteps nearing them in quick steps, and looked around to find Takeshi running in their direction.

 “Are you guys both okay?!” he asked.

“There’s no time for that,” Hanako said as she focused on the three silhouettes inside the smoke. “First, we have to deal with them.”

“She’s right,” Kazuki nodded. “They won’t leave us alone without a fight.” Isao laughed at this.

“Quite the clever ones, indeed. As expected from Konoha Genin. But don’t think we’ll go easy on you just because you’re brats.” Hanako felt her blood boil, Isao’s wicked grin was starting to get on her nerves.

“Don’t underestimate us,” she said through gritted teeth. “You still don’t know about our abilities.” She closed her eyes for a second and reopened them with her Sharingan activated. The Iwa ninjas were rather surprised.

“Those eyes… You’re an Uchiha?” For the first time, Shun spoke.

“You know about them?” asked Tomoya.

“The Uchiha Clan is one of the most feared clans of Konoha because of its Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. It’s a visual prowess.”

“Hmph, you seem like an interesting child.” Isao looked intently at the brunette. His chakra then started to flow quicker throughout his body, which let Hanako know that he was preparing himself to perform a technique. She got into a defensive stance. In a fraction of a second, Isao vanished, making her raise her guard.

“Behind you…” A shallow voice spoke to her ear, making her body tense. Hanako started to turn on her heels, but she was too slow. Isao landed a kick on her stomach and sent her flying backwards. The Uchiha flipped in midair and successfully landed on her feet, skidding backwards a few meters because of the force of the impact. Hanako straightened herself and looked at Isao with narrowed eyes. _‘He’s fast,’_ she thought. _‘Even faster than me.’_

“That Sharingan doesn’t seem to be such a big deal,” Isao laughed. “You can’t even follow my movements.” He vanished once again, and Hanako jumped to one of the highest branches of the nearest tree. Isao attacked the empty spot she was previously in, which made Hanako smirk.

_‘Looks like he moves so fast that he can’t even see where he’s going. That’s why he memorizes his enemy’s position before attacking; but if the enemy moves, then the attack fails.’_

Hanako jumped again towards another branch.

_‘As long as I keep moving, there shouldn’t be a problem.’_

Isao halted beside a tree trunk and Hanako stopped to observe him from another tree. He narrowed his eyes. The Uchiha focused on trying to feel his chakra, knowing the reaction it would have when he used his speed. Isao smirked.

“Not bad… You seem to have realized. For a brat, you do have the ways of a ninja.” Isao made a hand seal before disappearing. “ _Meisaigakure no Jutsu_.”

After he performed the jutsu, Isao’s body disappeared from everyone’s sight. Hanako could still see his chakra with her Sharingan; he was moving towards her teammates. Kazuki and Takeshi weren’t aware of him, they were concentrated on the other Genin from Iwa. Hanako gulped before following him and warning her friends about Isao. He was going to attack Takeshi, but Hanako landed in front of him just in time to block his kunai. Isao reappeared with his wicked smile that made her stomach churn. Kazuki ran towards them.

“Are you all right?” Takeshi and Hanako only nodded.

“Kazuki,” he immediately turned to look at the Uchiha. “Give me the scroll.” He was surprised by her words, but gave it to her without saying anything. Hanako tossed the parchment towards Isao, who caught it at once. “Take it,” she said. Isao eyed it carefully. “Take it, but leave us alone.” Hanako was sure about her decision. Isao looked at her, and pulled out of his jacket a scroll that looked just like theirs.

“I would,” he started saying as he tossed the scroll back to her. “But as you can see, we don’t need it. We have the same one.” Isao put his manuscript away again. “We’ll leave you alone under one condition.” Isao narrowed his eyes at all the members of Team 4. “You won’t say anything about this conversation, or our little encounter. I wouldn’t be happy if people found out that I let you get away.” He smirked. “In contrariwise, after the exams your bodies will be lying six feet underground.” He laughed evilly before focusing his eyes on Hanako. “You, I want to fight you. We’ll meet again.” Isao turned his back to them, and disappeared with his mates into the forest.

“What the…” Takeshi muttered after they vanished. Hanako let out a long breath she didn’t she was holding.

“I’d like to say this is over, but it’s barely the beginning.” The Uchiha looked at her teammates, who were panting and trying to regain their breaths. “I’m sure a lot of teams will come after us for their convenience, but we’re not weak and we’ll show them that.” Takeshi and Kazuki looked at her surprised. “Are you ready for this?” They both nodded with a smile.

“We’re in this together,” Kazuki said with a smile.

“I wonder…” Takeshi muttered. “What would be of Wood Girl and her team?”

“Who knows…?”

 

* * *

 

Hyori ran through the trees, followed by her teammates Ren and Kaichi. Her objective was to catch up to a certain team that kept the scroll they were looking for: the Heaven scroll. The three of them were so fixated on it that they didn’t notice the ninja who followed them. Three ninja appeared in front of Team 3 and attacked them with kunai. Hyori widened her eyes when she saw them; however she quickly pulled out a kunai and used it to block the upcoming knives.

“Heh...not bad...” one of the attackers muttered while he jumped to a high branch in front of Hyori. “Girl, give us your scroll and we’ll leave you alone,” he said with a cynical smile.

“What if I say no?” The Senju challenged him. The ninja crossed his arms, keeping his smile.

“Believe me, you don’t want to know.” He played with a kunai as he readied himself to attack again.

“Oh yeah?” Hyori chuckled. “Well, you don’t want to know who you’re messing with.”

“As if a girl like you could intimidate me!” The ninja scoffed.

Hyori put away her kunai in her pouch and started performing some hand seals for her Mokuton Jutsu. A hand was suddenly placed over hers, stopping her. She looked confused at Ren.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The Senju narrowed her eyes.

“Save your chakra for later, these guys aren’t as strong as they claim to be,” Ren said calmly. “If they were, they wouldn’t pick up a fight with us, having so much better options.”

“You’re underestimating us, brat.” The ninja with the kunai narrowed his eyes.

“Although, you’re too intelligent…for a brat,” another ninja said, standing next to the one holding the kunai. “What’s your name?”

“Ren.”

“Ren? Interesting,” said the ninja, with a malicious grin. The one with the kunai, Daichi, looked at him, imitating his grin.

“You look excited, Kenshi. What’s going on in your mind?” he asked him.

“Well, being a strategist comes with its advantages.” Kenshi chuckled. “We’re retreating this once. But...beware of your backs. We’ll come back for the scroll,” he finally declared. The ninjas then submerged in the tree trunks until their traces disappeared completely. The members of Team 3 looked at each other.

“It’d be better if we just continue. Even though this wasn’t a battle, there will be fights,” Kaichi said and everyone else nodded.

“Let’s go,” said the Senju as she started walking into the trees once again. The others followed her.

 

* * *

 

Outside the fence of the Forest of Death, Shisui rested his back against the bark of a tree as he gazed up at the sky. The Genin had gone into the Forest almost an hour ago, but he had to be there for at least five more days before he could actually rest. He took the chance to take out the file Fugaku had given him about Amane and eye it a little bit more. During her training, Hanako had not shown any weird behaviors. Nothing that could possibly link her to Amane.

Hikari watched him from a couple of meters away, without letting him notice her presence. She stayed there for a few minutes, under the false illusion that Shisui didn’t know about it. But he noticed her presence. “Are you just going to stand there observing me, or is there any specific reason for you to be here, Hikari?” Shisui asked, making the girl jump slightly out of surprise.

“Actually, I just came by to check how everything was going…and maybe say hi, since it’s been awhile since we last talked.” She walked towards him. Shisui looked at her and smiled, putting the file away.

“Everything’s fine. They went in a few moments ago and there haven’t been any problems yet.” Hikari nodded as she watched the creepy forest through the fence. She had seen the file Shisui had in his hands but decided not to ask about it. “Hanako will definitely pass this test. I trained her before the exams started, so I know she has the potential.” Shisui stared at the forest with a smile.

“Undoubtedly, Dad would be so proud of her.” Hikari turned to face him, meeting his eyes. “She’ll be powerful.” Shisui nodded, and looked back at the sky.

“I’d like to continue her training. There’s still so much she can learn, and so much I can learn.”

“Why so much interest in my sister, Shisui?” Hikari asked as she took a seat beside him. Shisui just shrugged. He knew he couldn’t tell Hikari about Amane Uchiha, for much that he wanted to. He only needed to come up with something believable to satisfy her.

“I just know a kid with potential when I see it,” he said. “It would be a shame to let such a genius go to waste just because they didn’t have the proper training…”

Hikari frowned. “Does it have something to do with that file you’re hiding?” Shisui tensed, making Hikari look at him. “I know you and Itachi are hiding something from me. I want to know.”

“You can’t,” Shisui spoke sternly.

“You seem to be forgetting whose sister she is,” Hikari frowned. “Shisui, if it concerns Hanako them I have a right to know.”

“Hikari, I want to tell you, believe me.” Shisui sighed. “But I cannot, this is confidential information Fugaku trusted me. I’ll tell you when I figure if Fugaku’s theory is true. I promise.”

Hikari pressed her lips into a thin line and sighed. “Fine, but it’s a promise…”

Shisui looked at her and smiled at her flustered face. “You can’t be jealous.”

“I’m not!” She glared at him. “Why would I be?”

“Who knows?” Shisui shrugged, a playful smirk decorated his fine lips. “Maybe because this means I get to spend more time with her than I do with you?”

Hikari shook her head and stood up. “I have to go, Mom expects me for dinner,” she said as she started to walk away.

“Don’t be mad at me, Hikari. I was just kidding!” Shisui hurried to say at her retreating figure.

“I’m not,” Hikari turned to look at him from over her shoulder. There was a smile in her lips.

“I like talking to you,” Shisui said. “Hope I get to see you soon.” Hikari waved her hand at him.

“Yeah, me too.”

 

 

When Hikari got home, she found her mother waiting for her at the main door with a white envelope in her hands. Her face was bright with happiness.

“What happened that got you so happy?” Hikari asked, at this her mother gave her the envelope.

Hikari looked at Akira strangely, but opened it. There was a paper inside, and when she read its contents, her eyes widened. It was a medical pregnancy test, and the results were positive. Hikari looked back at her mother to find her smiling widely.

“I’m having twins,” she said.

“T-Twins?” Hikari was shocked. Akira nodded in excitement. “W-When did this happen?”

“I have a little more than four months already,” she said, caressing her still small stomach. “At least now I know I wasn’t getting fat.”

“That’s incredible…” Hikari was out of breath. “We’re having twins…”


	19. Survival Challenge

__

_Team 4 had_ run for half an hour through trees until they decided it was time to take a break. Hanako stopped in a clearing, Kazuki and Takeshi stopped at either side of her. The sun was starting to set, and after sunset the forest would turn even darker than what it already was.

“It’s time for a refuel. We need to rest and we’ll continue in a few hours when we’re ready,” Hanako said, and everyone else nodded. She closed her eyes for an instant, noticing a presence lurking around them. She activated her Sharingan and inspected the place, but the presence wasn’t there anymore.

“Hana-chan, is there something wrong?” Takeshi asked.

“No,” she said. “I just…thought I sensed someone, but I probably just imagined it.” Hanako sighed as she rested her back against a tree. Again, she closed her eyes and felt, this time, a dozen ninja approaching them. She opened her eyes and frowned. There was nothing.

 _‘What’s going on?’_ She observed that her teammates were fast asleep, and soon she started to feel drowsy. Hanako closed her eyes and the strange sensations started to invade her once again. That’s when she noticed the abnormal fluctuations in her chakra.

 _Genjutsu_. Hanako made a seal with her hands. “ _Kai!_ ” When she opened her eyes, she heard a chuckle coming from the tree in front of her. She looked up to one of its branches; there was a ninja looking down maliciously at her.

“Not bad, although you’re the only one who managed a way around the illusion on time. I was planning to take the scroll from you while you were still unconscious. However, you’re awake, and I doubt you’ll courteously hand us the Earth scroll.” Hanako’s eyes widened.

“How did you—?”

“Know your scroll?” He raised an eyebrow. “We’ve been watching you for a while.” He then smirked. “And we know that  _you_ have it, so we’re not going to waste precious time in your friends.” He looked serious. Hanako frowned. They hadn’t been careless enough to pull out their scroll in the middle of the Forest without any reason, and even less mentioned it out loud. They couldn’t know… Hanako focused her eyes on his protector. He was from Iwagakure. Did someone from Isao’s team leaked their information?

She sighed, she had been too naïve to think they would remain silent.

Two more ninja appeared, one at each side of the boy, holding kunai in their hands. “I suggest you give us your scroll. Without these two you’ve been outnumbered.” He pointed towards Kazuki and Takeshi. Hanako smirked.

“Heh, don’t even think about it!” She stood up, looking at the ninja with challenging eyes.

“Is that so?” he retired his hand. “Too bad, it’ll have to be the harsh way.” He made a strange hand seal and her body became paralyzed. One of the other ninja launched his kunai at her, but a wooden wall appeared on its way, defending her. Hanako was surprised.

“Can’t you even protect yourself, Uchiha?” Hanako moved her eyes toward the voice. Hyori.

 _‘Thank you,’_ Hanako thought as she closed her eyes, letting out a breath. “I never thought they would have the ability to paralyze. It’d be easier to defend myself if I could actually move,” she said. ‘ _Maybe Itachi was right. I should have a plan after all.’_

At that moment, the jutsu was released and the ninja fell to his knees.

“Looks like this jutsu of yours requires a lot of chakra and you still have a short lapse of control,” Hanako commented, straightening herself. Hyori and her team stood behind her.

“You sure meet with interesting people,” said the Senju while looking at the opponents. Then her eyes moved to Kazuki and Takeshi, who were still knocked out in an illusion. “Our only encounter has been against a team who were only good at threatening.”

“They said they will be back, so don’t let your guard down, Hyori,” Ren reminded her.

“Of course, they were just weaklings and cowards for coming after us instead of looking for a bunch of stronger Genin, you said so yourself!” Hyori crossed her arms.

“Weaklings and cowards?” one of the ninjas snapped. “Don’t underestimate us!” The ninja threw himself at them. Hanako took the opportunity to perform her hand seals.

“ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu._ ” She released a great fireball from her mouth.

“Don’t be an idiot!” The paralyzing ninja yelled panting before making another bunch of hand seals. “ _Doton: Doryuuheki._ ” He placed his hands over the ground, creating a big wall of dirt that deflected Hanako’s fire.

“Tsk, they’re good,” Hyori commented making her own hand seals. “ _Mokuton no Jutsu._ ” Hyori made three wooden ropes that tied the ninjas tightly enough so they couldn’t escape.

“Tsk! Dammit!” One of them managed to drop a smoke grenade, and then they disappeared.

“How?!” Hyori widened her eyes. “That’s not possible...” Hyori placed one finger on the ground. “They’re not far.” She tried to run after them but Hanako grabbed her arm.

“Don’t go after them.” She looked at her seriously, and Hyori sighed. The Uchiha let go of her.

“Why is that?”

“Did you take a look at their headbands?” Hanako asked. Hyori returned her glance, confused.

“Yeah, but what does it have to do with—?”

“They’re from Iwagakure.” Hanako interrupted her, her eyes narrowed. _‘They must be up to something.’_ “Didn’t you notice?” she asked. “You never mentioned anything about the ninjas you faced. However, they somehow seemed to know exactly who you were talking about.”

“Now that you mention it,” Ren said thoughtfully. “They were from Iwagakure as well.” Hanako smirked.

 “I see... So they _are_ comrades after all.”

 

* * *

 

The sun was starting to set in the Forest of Death. The members of Team 2 were walking through the trees looking for a place to rest.

“Itachi-kun, are you sure we shouldn’t continue to look for the—?” She was suddenly interrupted by Itachi’s hand covering her mouth.

“Koharu, don’t mention our scroll.” Itachi looked at her menacingly before dropping his hand. Koharu just nodded looking at Itachi with terrified eyes.

“Probably the other Genin may have already fought against many opponents. What do you think, Itachi? After all, they always go after the newbies.” Itachi remained thoughtful for a while before turning his head towards Hiroki, who looked at him expectantly.

“Then they probably would realize that they shouldn’t underestimate a ninja for its size,” he said before resting his back against a tree and sliding down into a sitting position.

“I guess you’re right,” Hiroki commented while letting out a sigh. “By the way, this girl, what was her name? Ho—?”

“Hanako,” Itachi said.

“Yeah, Hanako-san. She’s part of your clan, right?” Itachi nodded. Koharu paid attention, suddenly getting interested. “Is she strong?” Itachi remained silent.

“Who knows...” he answered after a while before closing his eyes. He remembered Shisui stopping him and pulling him to the side after he received his scroll before the exam started. He wanted him to observe Hanako, since something important might happen that would contribute to their investigation of Amane Uchiha.

“You know, I hate your answers.” Hiroki sighed. “They’re always as if you were hiding something.” He crossed his arms and turned his back to Itachi. Koharu just chuckled at Hiroki’s childish behavior.

 

* * *

 

Hanako ran alongside her teammates, once again in movement. After Team 3 left, the brunette woke her friends from the Genjutsu. They rested for a couple of hours before continuing their way. This time, instead of being ambushed they’d make sure they would ambush a team with the white scroll.

Hanako signaled her friends to stop. This time they stood closer to each other, and they observed the team that was gathered on the ground. One of the members carelessly took the scroll out of his pouch. It was an Earth scroll. The members of Team 4 sighed and continued on their search of the other scroll. The only team they had encountered until now with the Heaven scroll had escaped, and at the time Kazuki and Takeshi were under the effects of a Genjutsu. Hanako frowned.

“Hana-chan,” she turned to Takeshi, who was looking at her expectantly. “Don’t you think it would be faster if we just split up?” She frowned harder and turned her face back to the front.

“If we split up and something happens to either of you, we won’t be able to continue with the test. Besides, I would feel guilty for that...”

“But,” Kazuki interrupted. “We can avoid fighting. In any case, we’re not weak, you know that.” Hanako thought about Hyori saving them before from the Iwa ninjas. Kazuki and Takeshi were unconscious, they didn’t notice anything that happened and she started doubting.

“I don’t—”

“Hanako.” Takeshi snapped. The girl knew he was serious since he had called her by her full name. “Trust us, and don’t underestimate us.” She turned to him. He seemed annoyed.

“If you’re worried about us, we can divide into two groups,” Kazuki suggested. “Because you have your Sharingan and you’re also a sensor, you can go on your own. Takeshi and I will go the other way.” Well, if at least she knew they were together she wouldn’t be so worried...but still.

“One hour,” Hanako stopped abruptly before turning to them. “We’ll meet here in one hour,” she said before continuing ahead. She noticed that Kazuki and Takeshi nodded before going in the opposite direction.

 

* * *

 

Koharu watched her two companions rest until she felt something strange lurking around them. Itachi seemed to have noticed it too, because he opened his eyes with the Sharingan activated. Hiroki seemed unaware of the situation, until he saw his teammates worrying.

“Is someone there?” Koharu muttered to the Uchiha, who was observing a certain spot between the trees.

“Hiroki,” Itachi suddenly said. “Let’s go take a look. Koharu, you stay here; don’t move and don’t make any noise that may draw attention to you.” Koharu just nodded as she watched the two boys leave.

She sat on the ground, resting her back against a boulder. She relaxed, closing her eyes; however, it wasn’t long before a chuckle made her body tense. Koharu stood up, pulling a kunai from her pouch.

“Who’s there?” She felt so nervous that she held tightly the knife in her hands. This wasn’t the same as the easy missions of a Genin. The same chuckle was heard again. A big guy emerged from the shadows, and Koharu took a few steps backwards —forcing her body to move.

“Give me your scroll, girl, and maybe I’ll consider not hurting you.” He chuckled again, making Koharu feel nervous.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She gulped. “I don’t have the scroll.” She tried to appear brave, but she knew he didn’t buy it. He looked at her with a smirk.

“Come on, it’s the basics to give the scroll to the weakest member of the group. Then, the stronger ones get to go in search of the missing scroll, while avoiding the risk of theirs being taken.” He suddenly became serious. “Give me the scroll.” Koharu was so frightened that her hand moved itself towards her pouch and took out the white scroll. She showed it to the ninja. He widened his eyes, and then chuckled again. “It’s the same as ours.”

“So that means you’ll leave me alone?” Koharu put away the scroll again. The ninja laughed at her.

“Of course not! Who says that one team can’t gather more than one set of scrolls? It would reduce competition.” Koharu felt a strange sensation in her stomach, and held her kunai tighter, wishing for her comrades to return quickly before this guy could hurt her. She knew she was afraid, especially because of the look in his eyes.

The next thing she saw was that he pulled out a kunai, and launched it at her in full-speed. Koharu just stood there, waiting for the end to come. She closed her eyes and suddenly heard a thud. The knife never reached her. She opened her eyes again, finding a girl in front of her, shorter than she was. Her straight brown hair partially covered the Uchiha crest on her back.

“You...” she said surprised. Hanako turned her head to look at Koharu and smirked. Her eyes had the Sharingan, just like Itachi’s.

“What use does a kunai have if instead of using it for self-defense, you just close your eyes and wait to be killed?” she asked. Koharu was dumbfounded. Hanako frowned and turned back to the ninja in front of her. He was supposed to be lying still on the ground, but he was gone.

Both girls looked up to find him falling straight towards them, with a kunai in his hand. He launched it towards Hanako, but she deflected it with one of her own. Still, the guy fell on top of her, pinning her against the ground. He then pulled out another kunai and pressed it against her neck. Without being able to take it anymore, Koharu let out a loud and terrifying scream.

 

* * *

 

Hiroki and Itachi had walked around, but they didn’t find anything strange. “There’s nothing here, Itachi.” Hiroki said. “We should get back to Koharu, I don’t like her being alone.” He moved close to mutter something to his ear. “And even less if she’s with our scroll.” Itachi nodded, heading back to where they had left their teammate.

A loud scream was heard from the meeting spot. Itachi could feel chills going down his back and he turned to look at Hiroki with worry. He was already looking back at him with wide eyes.

“Koharu!”

 

* * *

 

Hanako was having trouble to breath with a knee pressed tightly over her chest and a knife pressed against her throat. If only she moved a little, she would be cut. Hanako did her best to remain completely still, but she didn’t have much trouble —her strength was nothing compared to his.

Koharu just stood there, looking completely terrified and without doing anything. Her screaming still echoed in Hanako’s head, not letting her think clearly. She met the ninja’s eyes and let out a nervous chuckle, which she soon regretted when she felt a stinging pain on her neck. The kunai had grazed her skin. However, she kept her Sharingan fixed on his eyes and took the chance to catch him in an illusion that would paralyze his body. His hold loosened and she switched their positions, Hanako being on top now. She pressed the kunai to his neck.

“Give me your scroll,” she hissed lowly. The guy chuckled.

“Do whatever you want,” he said. “I don’t have it.” He looked back at her with pursed lips. “You have quite good eyes.”

“Ko!” Hanako heard a voice behind her and turned around just in time to receive a kick on her stomach that sent her away. Hanako crashed against the bark of a tree, cracking it a bit. She immediately stood up, cleaning the blood the trickled from her mouth. She glared at the newly arrived boy who kicked her.

“Let me deal with this brat.” Ko stood on his feet as he glared at Hanako. “If you want our scroll, then we will fight for them.” He turned to his comrade. “Pass me the scroll.” His comrade pulled out a Heaven scroll, making Hanako’s lips curl up into a smirk. “Now show me yours,” he said to the Uchiha. Hanako pulled out her Earth scroll and showed it to him. Now it was his turn to smirk. “It’s been decided then. The winner gets the set, while the loser gets nothing.” Hanako put away her parchment, allowing Ko’s partner to do the same. This was Hanako’s chance to finally get the scroll they needed.

 _‘How ironic,’_ Hanako thought. _‘We agree to not get into any fights, and look at me now.’_ She let out a chuckle.

“I feel sorry for you,” Ko said. “I don’t plan on losing today against a kid.” Hanako narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t underestimate me,” he chuckled.

“You have some guts to talk back to me like that.” He looked seriously towards his comrade. “Don’t interfere, this is my fight.”

“But what about this one?” Ko’s partner pointed his finger at Koharu, who still stood with wide eyes, looking at Hanako worriedly.

“Leave her. She’s useless to us. The only one I care about is her,” Ko said, narrowing his eyes at Hanako. “Girl,” he directed his attention to Koharu. “It would be best if you leave now before I change my mind and decide to kill you as well.” Hanako could feel Koharu tense and look doubly worried at her.

“Go,” Hanako looked at her seriously. “I’ll be okay. Trust me.” She half smiled. Koharu nodded softly and ran away, without turning back. Hanako knew she felt guilty for leaving her behind. She saw it. She was trying hard not to cry, but she failed. She then moved her eyes back to Ko.

“Well, shall we?” He picked up his kunai from the ground. Hanako gulped, taking out another kunai from her pouch. Without a warning, she launched herself towards him and they engaged in a Taijutsu fight —clashing their weapons. For a brief second, Hanako found an opening and took the chance to land a hard kick on Ko’s stomach. He skidded backwards, covering himself while she kept hitting him everywhere she could. Hanako managed to land another kick that sent him flying to the tree opposite to them, making the wood crack.

“Not bad,” Ko chuckled. “But,” he joined his hands forming the hare seal. “ _Raiton: Akari Raimei no Jutsu._ ” He placed his hands on the ground. Hanako felt an electric current moving through the earth towards her. Her body became paralyzed for an instant; she felt an electric shock as she appeared to be consumed by lightning that emerged from the ground beneath her. Hanako let out a scream before disappearing into smoke, leaving on her place a lightly burnt log. Ko widened his eyes. Wires appeared from the ground around him, which tied him tightly to the tree behind him.

“That was close,” Hanako walked towards him, holding in her hand the other end of the wires. She could notice the surprise and incredulity on Ko’s face, which made her smirk. “I told you not to underestimate me.” She turned to the ninja who kept their scroll. “It’s over now. Give me the scroll.” He pulled out a kunai and got into a fighting stance.

“You’ll have to take it away from me.” Hanako raised an eyebrow.

“I thought we had a deal. If I won, then the scroll would be mine.” She sighed. “Oh well, it seems that you can never trust anybody.” Hanako glared at him with her Sharingan. “I won’t have any trouble taking it from you anyways.” The tomoes around her pupil started to move, circling it. Hanako took the wires to her mouth and held them with her teeth as she made a clone appear. It then attacked Ko’s partner. The original Uchiha looked back at Ko, tied to the tree. She made another set of hand seals. “If we exchanged places right now, would you really kill me?”  Hanako asked as she took a few steps backwards, so the wire would extend until it looked like a fine line from her mouth to the tree.

“I’d do anything to get the scroll,” replied Ko, looking at her coldly.

Hanako smirked. “It’s nice to see we’re on the same page.” Hanako performed the last seal as her eyes concentrated on his headband. He was from Kusagakure. “ _Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu._ ” The flames moved through the wires until they lighted up the tree on fire. After a few seconds, the fire disappeared, leaving the ninja unconscious but alive. Hanako looked at her clone, who had knocked Ko’s partner out and was now taking the scroll from him. It disappeared at the second it gave the scroll to the original. Hanako stared at the scroll for a while.

 _‘We have both scrolls. Now we just have to get to the tower,’_ Hanako thought as she put the Heaven scroll in her pouch.

“What have you done?!” Hanako heard a high-pitched voice and sighed. She turned her head to find Koharu alongside a very surprised Hiroki and Itachi —as always, there was no emotion showing in his face. Maybe his eyes did widen a little bit, but nothing noticeable.

“They’re fine, I didn’t kill them. They should wake up…eventually.” Hanako shrugged, noticing that Koharu’s eyes were still glued to the burnt figure tied to the tree. He was still releasing smoke. “Well, he might have a couple of serious burns…” she tilted her head innocently as she smiled at Koharu. “But he’s still alive.”

“You defeated the two of them, _alone_?!” Hiroki dedicated her an incredulous look. Hanako just nodded.

“It was pretty easy, I actually expected a little more of them…but I don’t care now since I got the scroll I needed.”

“You have a complete set _already_?!” Hiroki widened his eyes even more. “But it’s just the first day!” Hanako shrugged.

“It’ll be easier to get to the tower now than in a couple of days when everyone becomes desperate. I’ll be rooting for you, though.” Hanako looked at the sky. She frowned. “It’s getting late.” She should have met with her teammates a long time ago, and they would probably be worrying. “I have to go.” She turned to the woods.

“Hanako, wait.” She heard Itachi say, and stopped to look at him. “Thank you for saving Koharu,” he smiled slightly. “Take care.” Hanako felt her heart skip a beat but ignored it as she returned his smile.

“Same,” she replied before she left, back into the woods.


	20. The Heaven and Earth Scrolls

_Hanako made it_ to the rendezvous, and just as she had expected, it was empty. She walked around, paying close attention to her surroundings, as she concentrated her chakra trying to find her teammates. She found them half a mile away from where she stood and hurried towards them. Hanako ran until something got in her way; a giant bear stood right in front of her with its sharp claws and powerful jaws. Hanako got into a fighting stance just before she noticed small drops of water, floating over the ground around the creature’s paws. The drops joined together to form a water whip that tied all the four paws together, making the bear fall hard to the ground.

“ _Suiton: Suiben_.” Hanako recognized Kazuki’s chakra and smiled upon his appearance along Takeshi. She put away her kunai.

“I see…Water whips?” she said. “Any other trick you would like to share, Kazuki?” Hanako observed the black haired boy as he rested over a tree branch. He chuckled.

“You’re late, Hanako,” said Takeshi. “Thirty minutes late.” He mimicked a guy with a watch, taking the time. “What were you doing that took you so long?”

“I had some business to take care of. I couldn’t come until it wasn’t solved.” Takeshi raised an eyebrow at her answer.

“Business? What kind of business could you possibly have in the Forest of Death?” Hanako smirked.

“Getting a scroll, perhaps? They’re not easy to find, you know…” She pulled out the Heaven scroll from her pouch. “Although, this one was quite easy.” The two boys eyed cautiously the white scroll.

“You did it?” Kazuki jumped down from the tree, landing right beside the Uchiha. Hanako nodded. Kazuki was about to say something when he was interrupted by a loud, strenuous sound.

“That was…?” Hanako narrowed her eyes.

“An explosion?” Kazuki turned to the direction the sound seemed to come from. “Should we check it out?”

“No!” Takeshi shook his head. “We already have both scrolls. What we should do is go straight to the tower and get out of here before we get into trouble,” he suggested.

“You worry too much, Takeshi,” Hanako said to him, focusing on sensing any chakra near where the explosion took place. She widened her eyes when she recognized three signatures. “It’s…Hyori’s team…” She turned to look at her teammates. “They’re fighting two teams!” Kazuki looked back at her with surprise.

“Two teams?! We should back them up!” Takeshi flinched at the thought.

“What are you guys thinking?” Takeshi covered his face with both his hands. “You don’t care what I have to say? Let’s go to the tower before we get into serious tapioca! But noooo…. You guys want to go deep.” Hanako looked at him with serious eyes.

“No, we’re not going to the tower,” she said. “If it were us in that situation, would you run away?” She raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Would you leave us behind?”

Takeshi looked down and shook his head.

“Exactly. We’re not leaving them either,” she added. “They saved us once, now it’s our turn to return the favor.”

 

* * *

 

After saving the Uchiha’s team, Hyori and the others went looking for their own Heaven scroll. A couple hours went by until they finally stopped to rest. They drank water and made sure no enemies were nearby as they relaxed near the roots of a tree. When they had regained their energy and were ready to continue, a group of ninjas appeared. They were the same ones that had tried to ambush them before, although this time, they didn’t come alone.

“Well, well, so here you are...brats.” The first ninja spoke.

“Don’t get so excited, Daichi.” Another one appeared, standing right next to him. “We told you we would come back, and this time we’re definitely getting that scroll.”

“Heh! Good luck with that!” Hyori scoffed.

“Do not provoke them, Hyori.” Ren nagged her.

“They’re messing with us! I won’t let them get away with that!” She defended.

“Kenshi, can’t we just kill them and get this over with?” Daichi asked.

“Do as you please.” A third one emerged from the darkness of the forest.

“Kenta?” The other two looked at him with wide eyes.

“Rui and his team are on their way,” he added. “I’m sure you already know who I’m talking about,” he inquired as his eyes landed over Hyori. “You’ve fought him before, wood girl.” Hyori widened her eyes. A laugh was heard.

“He’s right.” The members of Team 3 suddenly paralyzed.

 _‘This guy! Was this the jutsu Hanako was talking about?’_ Hyori thought, gritting her teeth.

_“I never thought they would have the ability to paralyze. It’d be easier to defend myself if I could actually move.”_

_‘I can’t move!’_ the Senju thought worriedly as she watched the six Genin getting ready to attack.

 _‘This is bad. If we can’t move, we can’t defend ourselves or even fight back!’_ Ren thought trying to look for a way to save their team. The ninjas took out kunai with explosive tags and threw them around the paralyzed ninjas.

“I have to do something!” Hyori tried to concentrate her chakra without making hand seals. “Dammit!”

The kunai exploded but none of them got hurt thanks to a wooden shell Hyori managed to build around them just in time. Panting, she cracked a smile.

“Saved,” she muttered.

“You managed to use your Mokuton Jutsu without seals?” one of the ninjas commented. “Interesting.”

The shell disappeared.

“However, it seems that it took a lot out of you. You’re almost at your limit.” Another one added.

“It looks like this won’t be an interesting battle.” Daichi was disappointed. “You’re just a bunch of kids after all.” He laughed.

“Shut up!” Hyori glared at him. “We won’t lose.”

“You can say whatever you want,” Kenta said. “As you can see, you’re clearly outnumbered. It’s three against six.”

“You’re wrong.” Another voice answered from the top of a tree. They all turned towards the provenience of it. “It’s six against six.” Hanako emerged from the shadows alongside her team. Rui widened his eyes upon recognizing her.

“You!” He pointed his finger at her. “You’re that Uchiha brat!” Hanako focused her eyes on him as she activated her Sharingan.

“And you are the paralysis jutsu user, am I wrong?” Rui narrowed his eyes at her.

“Hanako!” Hyori called. “What are you doing here?!”

“To return the favor.” The Uchiha smirked.

“We might be six against six, but you’re still nothing but a bunch of kids.” Kenshi commented. “We will take your scrolls. And we  _will_ dispose of you right here, right now.” Hanako narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t underestimate us. Looks can be deceiving, you know?”

The paralysis jutsu faded and all members of Team 3 could move once again. Hyori smirked as she tightened her fist.

“And what could a girl like you do?” Kenshi inquired with a mocking tone.

“This.” Hyori joined her hands in a seal. “ _Mokuton no Jutsu._ ” Wood tied around him tightly, but Kenshi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“ _Kawarimi,_ ” Hyori undid the jutsu. Kenshi reappeared in another branch.

“Nice try, but you’ll need a little more than that to get me.” He smiled playfully. “And even more to defeat me.”

“Hyori.” Hanako warned. “Don’t waste your chakra. These guys aren’t newbies as we are; they’re probably a little more ‘experienced’.” She glared at them.

“You realized that?” Kenshi raised an eyebrow.

“How many times have you participated in this exam?” she asked.

“This is my third.” Rui said. “But Kenta and his team have been trying for almost three years. This is their sixth time.” He chuckled. “They never make it past the second test.” Hanako noticed that her teammates tensed.

“We don’t stand a chance.” Kaichi muttered worriedly.

“Well, there must be a reason while they’re still here.” Hanako got into a fighting stance. “They’re either dumb or weak.”

“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!”

Everyone got ready to fight. Kenta launched a couple of shuriken towards them but they all jumped away, scattering around. Hanako felt a presence behind her and quickly turned around with a kunai in her hand, which she used to deflect her opponent’s.

“I’ll be your opponent!” Kenshi shouted as he attacked again. Hanako dodged and quickly made it for a run, deep into the woods, away from him. “Why are you running away?! Is the little girl afraid?”

Hanako ran even faster, knowing that Kenshi would follow. She had a plan, but she didn’t want either Hyori or the rest to get involved.

“I’ll take care of you, wood girl.” Rui stood behind Hyori. She turned around just in time to receive a hard kick on her stomach that would send her flying backwards. She landed on her feet, and skidded to a stop.

“Suit yourself,” she replied. “But I’ll tell you. It won’t be so easy.” She made a seal. “ _Suiton: Yuudachi._ ” She shot a strong water stream towards Rui, who covered himself among the trees. The water from the jutsu pierced all the trunks in its way but none of them got him.

“ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu._ ” Kenta attacked the Genin that remained with a fireball. Kazuki noticed this and quickly made hand seals for a water jutsu.

“ _Suiton: Suijinheki._ ” The fire died down. Through the steam, the silhouettes of the four ninja left could be seen.

“Now, now...” Kenta smirked. “Where were we?”

 

* * *

 

Hanako kept running at a blinding speed, knowing that Kenshi still followed her. She was surprised that he was able to keep up. “You know?” he suddenly said. “I’m getting tired of this little game of yours.” Hanako looked sideways at him as he performed some hand seals. She narrowed her eyes with the Sharingan activated, getting ready for any kind of jutsu he might have. “ _Fūton: Daitoppa._ ” The winds around them suddenly became rougher; one hit Hanako dryly on her side and threw her towards a bunch of bushes. She landed hardly on the ground and managed to get up, hiding among the trees. Hanako put her back against a tree trunk, until the winds went back to normal. When it stopped, she tilted her head to look right behind the tree, and took notice of the destruction the jutsu had caused.

“Well, if his chakra nature is wind, then I have that going for me.” Hanako smirked.

“You think you can hide from me?!” Kenshi yelled. “I will destroy the entire forest if it’s necessary! _Fuuton: Shinkuuha!_ ” The wind cut through the trees like knives. Hanako was forced to leave her hideout when one of the wind knives cut through the trunk she was in. She landed in the clearing that was made, right in front of Kenshi. He chuckled. “So there you are, huh? I finally got you!” He made another hand seal.

 _‘It’s now or never,’_ Hanako thought as she made a hand seal of her own.

“ _Fuuton: Daitoppa._ ” Kenshi made his wind rampage again.

Hanako concentrated a lot of chakra in her chest as she finally finished with the tiger seal. “ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!_ ” She released a big fireball from her mouth. It collided with the strong winds that Kenshi had generated and that caused a great fire that spread all around them, forming an enormous fire whirlwind.

Hanako protected herself with her arms as the expansive heat wave hit her, sending her backwards and out of the swirl. She landed face first on the ground, away from the fire. When she looked back at it, images flooded in her mind of the fire she had caused in the civilian town. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to stop blaming herself, she had no other choice.

Once the fire died down, Hanako stood up, feeling hurt by all the burns that covered her arms ¾which she used to protect herself. She slowly walked towards Kenshi, who was lying on the ground unconscious and totally covered in serious burns just like she.

Hanako checked his weapon pouch carefully, in case he might have a scroll; and lucky for her she found an Earth scroll. She half smiled and put it away with the rest of the scrolls she carried. “Ouch…” Moving hurt like hell, but she still had to get where the others were. “Something like this won’t make me leave the exams.”

 

* * *

 

“Don’t even think that you can run away from me!” Hyori shouted at the paralyzing jutsu user. When she thought she had found him, an earth dragon appeared out of the blue to attack her directly.

“ _Doton: Dosekiryuu._ ” Rui controlled the dragon from one of the highest branches of the tree. He caught the Senju off guard with it, and dragged her over the ground carelessly until he undid the jutsu, thinking he had defeated her. When the dragon finally disappeared, Hyori was left on the ground. “I can’t believe it; this was easier than what I had thought.” He sighed.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Hyori mumbled next to his ear, making him flinch. “This isn’t over yet.”

“What the heck?!’ Rui jumped away from her, landing on the opposite branch.

“Look closely,” Hyori said. He did so, and noticed that the body lying on the ground was actually a doll made out of wood.

“ _Moku Bunshin..._ ” Rui muttered. “You fooled me, but¾” He didn’t get to finish his phrase when Hyori landed a punch square on his face. The force made him lose his balance and fall off the branch; but, before he hit the ground, Hyori continued to hit him and finish him off. She focused her chakra on her foot and kicked him so hard that when he landed on the ground, he crated it. Rui was left unconscious, while Hyori landed swiftly behind him.

“That’s what you get for making fun of me,” Hyori stuck her tongue at him in a childish manner. Then she turned on her heels, and returned to the group.

 

* * *

 

“ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_.” Kenta attacked the remaining Genin with his fire jutsu. Kazuki quickly made some hand seals.

“ _Suiton: Suijinheki_.” He managed to turn down the fire. Through the vapor left from the clash of both techniques, the silhouettes of the four attackers appeared.

“Shit...We’re done for...” Kaichi muttered worriedly. “The only one capable of using Ninjutsu is Kazuki, but he can’t face the four of them alone!”

“Ninjutsu isn’t the only way we can beat them,” Ren said calmly. “There are other ways, calm down.”

“How can you ask me to calm down?!” The blond shouted. Kenta made hand seals again.

“Dammit...” Kazuki fell on his knees. “I’m on my limit...” He panted. “I can’t keep up with him. He’s using too much fire jutsus and he has a lot more chakra than I.”

“I guess now I can finally attack you all at once.” Kenta ended his seals. “ _Katon: Housenka no Jutsu._ ” He exhaled small fireballs that where all directed towards the Genin but were intercepted by an earth wall that appeared before them.

“ _Doton: Doryuuheki._ ” Hiroki showed up, followed by Itachi and Koharu who stood at his side. “Don’t worry. We came to help you.” Hiroki smiled at them. They sighed gratefully. “Where are your friends?” he asked once he noticed that Hanako and the other girl were missing.

“Rui and Kenshi should be taking care of them.” Kenta answered. “Probably by now they should be begging for mercy somewhere deep in the forest.” He chuckled.

“Hanako isn’t that kind of person...” Takeshi hissed. “She’s not weak like you are!” He glared. “The one that should be begging for mercy is the one from your team of stupid buttheads!”

“Takeshi!” Kazuki placed a hand over his mouth. “Do not provoke him!” Kenta chuckled.

“We’ll see about that.” While they were chatting, one of Rui’s comrades was making some hand seals.

“ _Raiton: Sandaaboruto._ ” From his palms lightning emerged that destroyed Hiroki’s wall.

“Well done, Souta. You have improved your Raiton.” Kenta commented with a grin.

“Thank you, Kenta-san.” He replied with a nod.

“I wonder how your techniques are going, Daichi, Rikuto...” the aforementioned looked at him wide eyed and then at the ground. “I see...too bad.”

“There’s something strange with these guys.” Itachi commented as he focused on their combat abilities.

“What is it, Itachi-kun?” Koharu asked.

“Their chakra control, the way they attack...” Itachi narrowed his eyes as he eyed closely their headband. They all belonged to Iwagakure. “These guys can’t be Genin.” All the rookies looked at him wide eyed.

“Hanako thought about it as well...” Ren commented. “However, she simply categorized them as more ‘experienced’ Genin.”

Hiroki suddenly realized what Itachi had just said. “No, Itachi’s right.” He looked seriously at the ninjas. “Not even a Genin is  _that_  experienced. Your techniques are almost Chunnin level. But what are Chunnin doing in the Chunnin Exams?”

Kenta laughed. “I’m flattered to know that you think we’re Chunnin, but we’re not.” He cracked a playful smile. “We’re just Genin who received a special training that you Konoha brats could never understand. We’re prepared for a real battle, not just a game play.”

“I suppose we have no other choice.” Hiroki muttered. “Itachi, we have to use that combination.” Itachi nodded; they immediately started performing hand seals.

“ _Doton: Doryuusou._ ” Hiroki made sharp stone spears appear from the ground, moving rapidly towards them.

“ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu._ ” At the same time, Itachi created a fireball that lighted the spears in fire as they went through it. The ninjas were attacked by a rain of fired spears, which could get through any defense, some getting though them as well. They were left incapable to move, lying still on the ground.

“It’s over.” Itachi said as he walked towards them to check the bodies. “They’re out.” Hiroki checked each one of their pouches, only to find a Heaven scroll in Souta’s.

“Shit, it’s the same as ours.” He clicked his tongue.

“That works for us.” Ren commented. “We have an Earth scroll.” Without giving it a second thought, Hiroki passed him the scroll.

“Hiroki, what are you doing?” Koharu widened her eyes at her teammate. “You can always take both scrolls from them.” Hiroki shook his head.

“I don’t want to fight them; and they deserve it after what they had to go through.”

“Yeah sure... I did all the work.” Kazuki scoffed. Hiroki chuckled at this.

Hyori suddenly appeared through the trees, calling everyone’s attention. Kaichi and Ren ran up to her.

“Hyori! Guess what?” Kaichi exclaimed excited. “We did it! We have both scrolls!” However, she ignored him as she looked everywhere for a certain brunette.

“Where’s Hanako?”

 

* * *

 

Hanako walked slowly over to a tree. All the burns in her arms hurt like hell and she felt like she couldn’t continue anymore. She rested her back against the trunk and took long and deep breaths to calm her panting. Hanako closed her eyes for a second, but then felt a presence lurking over her, as if it were watching her.

She opened her eyes again, and observed cautiously her surroundings. There appeared to be nothing. Hanako frowned and decided to continue her way, when she felt the presence again. This time she turned around as fast as she could, but she only had time see a strange white figure as it morphed into the tree. She narrowed her eyes at it.

“How weird…” she muttered, turning her back to it and continuing her way back. Maybe it was just exhaustion playing with her mind. The figure didn’t show up again. 

Hanako finally made it to where everyone was, finding all opponents to be knocked out. She sighed relieved. “Where’s Hanako?” she heard Hyori ask.

“Right here,” she muttered barely audibly as she walked into the clearing they were in, always careful not to mistreat her burns.

“Hanako!” Takeshi ran up to her with worry having stricken his face. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah…” she nodded. “These are just a couple of burns…” She flinched when Takeshi touched one of them.

“This will help you.” Ren walked up to her, pulling out an object from his pouch. “This is a special ointment my mother gave me just in case. It’ll help you heal the burns faster,” he said as he applied it on her skin; it felt good. He also covered her arms in bandages. After that, he put a little ointment on her cheek, which hurt the most. Hanako hadn’t noticed that she had a burn there as well. Ren also covered it with a band aid. “All done, you should feel better.” He smiled.

“Yeah…Although I feel like a mummy,” Hanako commented as she eyes the bandages around her arms.

“Stop complaining.” Hyori sighed. “Ren was kind enough to help you, now you should thank him.” Hanako looked over at the boy and smiled.

“Thank you,” she said and he nodded.

“No problem.”

Hanako started to feel dizzy all of a sudden and had to grab a hold onto Takeshi so she wouldn’t fall to the ground. “I think you should rest, Hanako.” She heard Hiroki’s voice as if it spoke from afar.

“Rest?” Hanako laughed. “I’m perfectly fine!” The sudden movement she made had dizzied her more. She had to hold her head, she felt it wouldn’t stop moving around. “I…am…” Hanako felt too tired to be awake. “Fine…” she muttered finally, letting herself be consumed by darkness.


	21. Preliminary Matches

_Hanako felt her_ head was pounding once she started to wake up. She blinked a couple of times until her vision focused. “Hmmmm….” Hanako groaned, stretching her arms. Her body was asleep and she felt as if little ants walked around her limbs when she tried to move.

“You’re awake,” Hanako heard a familiar voice call to her. She looked in its direction and saw Itachi smiling down at her. “Sorry if I woke you.”

Hanako frowned. “Why would…?” Her words died down when she took notice of her position. She was lying down on the floor, and her head rested on his lap. She sat up in a moment.

“You were out for almost an hour,” Itachi continued calmly, not seeming to be bothered that she had just been lying on him. “You probably fainted from exhaustion. When was the last time you slept properly?” he asked.

“I tend to neglect myself…constantly…” Hanako bit her lip when he chuckled lightly. She had to admit she had been comfortable lying on Itachi’s lap, but she ought to be embarrassed he ¾who was also a member of another team and not hers¾ was watching out for her. There was a constant throbbing in her temples that didn’t let her think clearly, accompanied by an acute pain that was guilty of her blurry vision. She wondered if she might have a concussion.

“Are you okay?” Itachi reached a hand to run his finger through her hair, pushing it away from her face. Hanako nodded, closing her eyes in an attempt to push her dizziness away. “You should lay down…”

“No,” Hanako retorted. If she had hit her head when she fainted, then she shouldn’t go back to sleep in case she didn’t wake up again. “I’ll rest when I get to the tower.”

“There is no rush to get to the tower,” Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. “The first day isn’t over yet.”

“I know but¾” Hanako shut her mouth. She debated herself whether she should tell Itachi about Isao and his team or not. If only Isao knew that it was she who had killed his father, he would come right back at her. All Hanako wanted was to get to the tower so she could finally relax. That wasn’t going to ensure that Isao would never find out the truth, but it gave her time to recharge her energy. The problem was that Itachi didn’t even know about her mission in Iwagakure, so she couldn’t explain her distress to him.

“What is it?” Itachi asked when he realized that the girl wasn’t going to say anything.

“I…” Hanako looked away. She couldn’t meet his eyes.

“You…” And though, he urged her to continue. Hanako bit her lip.

“I’m tired of being the prey,” she finally said, pointing her trouble from a general point of view. “While being here, we haven’t had even a second of peace. I only rested because I fell unconscious; but if I rest, Kazuki and Takeshi will be left unprotected. We can only be safe if we get to the tower. Resting is not option.” Itachi’s hand slid from her hair to her shoulder.

“Hanako,” he said calmly. The girl looked at him, curious about what he was about to say. “You do know I’m also here to protect you, right? You don’t have to worry about such things.” Hanako shook her head in exasperation.

“Who are you to say such things?” she asked with a roll of her eyes. “You’re supposed to be the enemy in these exams.” Itachi chuckled.

“No matter what situation we’re in, I could never see you as my enemy.” Hanako’s eyes widened. Steps interrupted her thoughts as Itachi withdrew his hand.

“I see you’re up.” It was Hiroki; and behind him were the rest of the Konoha Genin. “That’s good because we need to get going.” Hiroki looked at his teammate. “You haven’t forgotten we are still mission one scroll, have you?”

Hanako raised her head, looking at Hiroki with curiosity. His green locks of hair covered his forehead partially, and Hanako wondered if it didn’t bother him if it stuck in his eyes. “Which one is it?” Hanako asked.

“The Earth scroll,” Koharu replied, earning a glare from both Hiroki and Itachi. She hunched forward, suddenly feeling smaller. “I’m sorry…” Koharu covered her face with both of her hands, feeling embarrassed. Hanako remembered the scroll she had found in Kenshi’s pouch.

“It’s okay,” Hanako said, reaching for her pouch. “There’s no one else but us around the perimeter.” She pulled a scroll with blue stripes. Hiroki looked at her with wide eyes. Itachi was merely curious, was she going to give them her scroll?

“No,” Hiroki rejected the offer before Hanako could say anything. “I’m sorry, we can’t take it.”

“You’re lucky,” Hanako’s eyes glimmered as her lips curved up into a smile. “I have a spare.” She pulled her own set of scrolls, one Heaven and one Earth. “You should take it before I change my mind.” Hiroki reached to take it in silence.

Then, with the scroll in his hands, he started to say. “I don’t know how¾” But Hanako interrupted him.

“It’s okay,” she said. “You helped us earlier against those Iwa ninja; this just makes us even.” She finished with a smile.

 “But it’s not fair. You got it, you should keep it.”

“I’d rather have you continue with us than leave you here after you’ve helped us.” Hanako looked sideways at Itachi for a brief second and then looked back at Hiroki, trying to conceal her blush. “Things will be a lot easier if we stick together.” Hiroki smiled and put away the scroll in his pouch.

“Thank you.”

“Well then,” Takeshi started. “Now that we’re working together, we should start heading to the tower.”

 

* * *

 

Anko, Shisui, the Hokage and his ANBU, and the Jounin supervisors observed everything that happened in the Forest of Death. “They’re doing pretty well...” The Hokage commented. “The Genin from the Village”. They were all reunited in the main room of the tower in the middle of the forest.  The room was simple, containing a bunch of monitors all organized against the wall through which the contestants could be observed in the forest. Various cameras were scattered, and hidden, among the forestry, for security purposes.

“Of course they are. They seem to have an odd affinity for working together.” Shisui commented, his eyes were fixed in the monitor through which Hanako could be seen sleeping on Itachi’s lap. He smiled slightly. All Konoha Genin were in the same area, although they couldn’t all be focused by the camera. Two of Iwagakure’s teams were knocked out and the third one was far away, facing another team from Kusagkure.

“The first day is already over. The sun is setting,” Anko said.

“The first day isn’t over until the time they began the exam,” Shisui reminded her.

“What I mean is that it’s just been hours and there are already teams heading to the tower. They didn’t even get to spend the night,” Anko replied as she stared at the same monitor Shisui looked at. Hanako had gotten up and had given another Genin an Earth scroll, and then showed them a complete set.

“Only the ones from Konoha.” The Third assured. “Although, I must say I’m surprised. I wouldn’t have expected them to work together to obtain the scrolls. And also head together as a group to the tower...” he added watching the three teams moving through the trees.

“It isn’t a surprise,” Shisui commented. “I wouldn’t have expected less from Itachi or Hanako.” He seemed to fidget in his place but he crossed his arms to stop moving. “In the Uchiha, it’s a tradition to put blood before everything else. Even if they’re supposed to be in different teams, they cannot forget they’re members of the same clan. If any Uchiha turns its back on another Uchiha, they would be committing treason.”

“This is just an exam,” Anko said. “It’s fair if they don’t help each other, after all they only need to worry about passing.”

Shisui shrugged. “The law is the law. The Uchiha have a right of auto-determination. That means we’re not only subject to the Village’s rules but also those rules from the Clan; whether it’s just an exam or real life.”

“And what happens if they break that rule?” Anko asked.

“Best case scenario, they get banished. Worst case scenario…” Shisui shuddered. He remembered how the Police Force had tortured a member of the Clan for having revealed information about to the enemy during the Third War. The end for his torture was when he committed suicide. “You don’t want to know.”

Anko scoffed, turning away from Shisui and from the monitors. “Are all Noble Clans like that? They are the oldest Kekkei Genkai users and the first to have joined Konoha, so they are all rewarded with free auto-determination.”

“The Uchiha was— _is_ a clan specialized in war. So it has various laws to protect itself; they are also extremists, if you don’t follow their rules as a member, you get punished for it.” The Hokage stood up. “The Senju Clan was also like that. In fact, every clan from the Warring States Period follow the same rules. That is one of the legacies that still remains, but the Uchiha are a little too strict about it.”

“That girl is a Senju. Is she also subject to those rules? If she is, then she shouldn’t be cooperating with the Uchiha.”

“A lot of norms changed when the villages were formed. Part of it, the relationships within clans. Before the villages existed, you were not allowed to reveal your clan name if you were to encounter a stranger outside your territory. You would be sent to war when you turned seven, and you would be forced to kill people even if you didn’t want to.

“Luckily, I didn’t get to live those times,” Hiruzen focused his sight on Hanako through the monitor. “But those who did had to bear the scars of war for the rest of their lives.” He smiled. “When the Uchiha and the Senju joined forces and founded Konoha, the endless war finally ended. I was younger than seven at the time, so I didn’t get to experience it. The Uchiha and the Senju were known as the strongest clans, so it was just a matter of time before the other clans copied their example and founded the other villages.

“Traditions still remain within the oldest clans, although most clans are nearly extinct now—including the Senju. Because the Uchiha are so strict with their own traditions, they are the largest and eldest clan in the world; and right after them, the Hyuuga.”

“Are the Uchiha still trained for war?”

“Yes, we are.” Shisui nodded. “But I am not allowed to discuss military issues from the Clan, so that’s all I can say.” Shisui looked away from the monitors and walked to sit in a chair at the back of the room. Anko seemed to dismiss the comment as did the other Jounin, although the ANBU present in the room and the Hokage all stared at Shisui with contemplative eyes.

“I see,” Hiruzen finally said, turning back to the monitors. “The Genin are getting closer to the tower. At this rate we’ll have to prepare preliminaries.”

Anko smirked. “You should take the prelims for granted, Hokage-sama.”

 

* * *

 

The Genin of Konoha moved fast through the trees, all of them having a complete set of scrolls. “Hanako,” Kazuki called to the Uchiha girl and she looked at him sideways. Even though he had addressed her, everyone was paying close attention. “When you took Kenshi’s scroll, it was an Earth scroll.” Hanako nodded tiredly, as if he were just stating the obvious. “But when Hiroki-san took Souta’s scroll it was a Heaven scroll. If the two teams that attacked us both had different scrolls, why didn’t they fight each other for them?” Hanako frowned, she hadn’t put much thought into the idea.

“Yes...” Ren added. “If you guys would’ve had the Heaven scroll, we wouldn’t have thought twice before taking it from you.”

“So this is how things are, huh?” Takeshi huffed. “Bastard...”

“Don’t argue over such trivialities,” Hanako sighed tiredly. “You would have probably done the same thing, Takeshi.” The boy looked away, realizing that what Hanako said was true. “Anyone would have,” she added.

“They didn’t,” Hyori interrupted. “They cooperated.”

“It’s quite a good strategy,” Hanako said. Everyone looked at her as if she just said she had a discovered a new continent. Itachi was the only one who understood what she meant. The rest had a dumbfound expression on their faces.

“Okay? Would you mind explaining?” Kaichi inquired with a raised eyebrow. “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“They became allies with the intention of helping each other in the search of the scrolls. And in case time caught up to them, and they didn’t get the scroll they needed, they would fight each other. That way at least one team would have the chance of passing the test.” Itachi explained.

“I still don’t get it.” Takeshi pouted.

“I see, they work together for mere interest,” Hiroki affirmed.

“No.” Itachi suddenly spoke. “These guys seemed to know each other from before; there must be another reason for their alliance.”

“It’s not the first time they participate in the Chunnin exams,” Hanako explained. “There exists a possibility of them working together in their previous exams.”

“That...or maybe they’re planning something. What I know is that they definitely needed to pass this second test,” Itachi added in a suspicious tone. Hanako observed him until Kaichi spoke.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore, right? When we reach the tower we will have approved the test and we won’t have to worry about those Iwa ninjas.”

Hanako’s blood froze and she came to a halt. “Iwa?” They all stopped around her.

“Yeah…” Kaichi was confused at her reaction. “One of them said they were Genin that had received special training; that they had been prepared for a real battle.”

Hanako looked at Kazuki and Takeshi, seeming alarmed. They returned her look. Without saying anything to the others, they hurried ahead. Hyori tried to follow them but Ren stopped her. “Hey! Hanako!” she screamed but Hanako was too far away to hear her.

 

 

 

The doors that lead to the inside of the tower were closed. Hanako pushed them slightly until they cracked open. It was dark inside, and lonely. “Is there supposed to be anyone in here?” Hanako asked, looking around. “I don’t see anyone.”

“We must be the first ones,” Kazuki suggested. “How much has it been since we started the test?”

Hanako looked outside, the sun was setting, melting behind the large trees. The sky was a gradient of purple and yellow colors, with splotches of clouds here and there. “It has to be around nine, maybe earlier.”

“So, I guess it took us about six hours to complete the test.”                                

“We finished this too quickly...” Takeshi commented. “You think we could have broken any record?” he asked.

“Probably.” Kazuki shrugged. Hanako wandered around while the other two continued to talk among themselves. Using her Sharingan, Hanako found a text carved into one of the walls.

“Hey guys!” she called. “There’s something here!” She narrowed her eyes, trying to read what it said. The room was still dark, so she could barely make out some shadows with the little sunlight that still managed its way in. “If you’re missing ‘heaven’, acquire knowledge and prepare for opportunity. If you’re missing ‘earth’, seek the strength to get through. Together ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’ turn danger into security. Keep in your heart the secret of the …‘ _blank space’…_ and become the guide.”

“Maybe the missing word is in one of these scrolls,” Kazuki suggested.

“But we were told we couldn’t open them under any circumstance!” Takeshi shrieked in horror.

Hanako looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “We’re already in the tower, which means we already approved the test.” Hanako pulled both scrolls from her pouch. “There shouldn’t be a problem.” She gave Kazuki the Heaven scroll while she kept the Earth scroll. “At the count of three.” Kazuki and Hanako nodded at each other, grabbing at the edges of the parchment. “One…Two…Three!” They both opened the scrolls only to find strange inscriptions in them.

“This is…” Kazuki frowned as he observed the marks, smoke suddenly emerged from them. Hanako realized what it was and quickly let go of the scroll. “Kazuki! It’s a summoning jutsu!” Kazuki threw it to the ground as it burst into a cloud of smoke. It surrounded them, hindering their vision completely. Torches lit up by themselves, illuminating the room. Hanako coughed as the smoke started to dissipate, and she saw a man standing before them.

“Did I scare you guys?” A familiar voice spoke to them, and they looked up. He was looking down at them with a cheeky smile.

“Yakumo-sensei?!” Yakumo had been their teacher in the Academy, just before they graduated. He was looking at them with a smile as he pulled a watch from his pocket. When he looked at it, his eyes widened.

“Five hours and thirty-seven minutes?!” He looked at the Genin. “I never expected you guys to finish the exam this quick. That’s truly amazing, although you’ll have to stay here and wait until the time span is over.”

They all sighed resignedly. “Five days in here...” Takeshi pondered about it. “Please tell me that you all brought enough food.”

“We can fish,” Hanako suggested. “There are a lot of rivers nearby.” Yakumo chuckled.

“Going out to the Forest now is a very dangerous quest, and the risk will grow as the days go by and the teams start arriving to the tower.” They all turned to look at him.

“ _So_... what do you suggest, Sensei?” Kazuki raised an eyebrow at him.

 “Now that you’ve made it here; we always keep snacks for those who make it to the end. They aren’t exactly meals but at least you won’t starve to death.”

“THANK YOU, YAKUMO-SENSEI!” Takeshi ran to hug the sensei. He chuckled.

“ _Hai, hai..._ ” Yakumo then pointed to the text behind him. “You’ve probably already noticed this, right?” Hanako nodded. “Well, I’ll explain it for you then.”

“Yeah...what’s the missing word?” Takeshi asked. The sensei lifted his hand, as he started to explain.

“The word ‘heaven’ refers to the mind; the word ‘earth’ refers to the body. A Chunnin not only needs strength but also intelligence to complete missions, because his role is to guide others on their ways. The missing word is—”

“Chunnin.” Hanako interrupted him. “Keep in your heart the secret of the  _Chunnin,_ and become the guide.” It completed the text’s meaning. Yakumo smiled at his former students and nodded.

“That’s an important lesson you must all keep in mind. Once you understand its meaning, you’ll become true Chunnin.”

 

* * *

 

All the Genin that made it to the end of the second test and reached the tower in less than five days were now standing in the middle of the arena inside the tower in the Forest of Death. All the Jounin from the village, and leaders of the teams were standing before them, under the statue of two hands joined in the rat seal.

Only four teams had made it to the tower safe and sound, the rest were either too injured to continue or were missing a member. From those four, three were from Konoha and only one from Iwa. The members of the teams were observing each other, knowing that the next phase would be fighting against each other.

“Congratulations for approving the second test.” Shisui’s voice made everyone fall silent. “Now, the Hokage will proceed to explain the third and final exam.” Shisui bowed to the old man before stepping back to his place among the rest of the Jounin.

“I’m sure all of you are aware of the reason we developed the Chunnin exams: so we can test the abilities of the different Shinobi of the different villages. This time, only nine Konohagakure Shinobi and 3 Iwagakure Shinobi made it here. A total of twelve combatants, which mean there are six matches of one on one. You are all going to fight each other in front of the whole village. However, since we are a little short of time, we can’t have that many matches in one day. That’s why I have decided to perform preliminary matches. Right here, right now. Only the best will fight in the final round, in front of the Feudal Lords and the Tsuchikage himself.” The Hokage sighed. “And only those who make it to the final round have the possibility of becoming Chunnin.” Hanako tightened her fists; she was definitely going to make it. “Hayate.” The aforementioned nodded and walked beside the Hokage.

“ _Hai_ , Hokage-sama,” he said. “Starting from now, you are all going to participate in the preliminaries. The winner from each match will move onto the third test, while the loser gets disqualified. My name is Hayate Gekko, and I’ll be the proctor for each match here and in the finals.” He introduced himself as he came to stand right in front of us. “The matches will start right away so if any of you feels like quitting, now it’s the right time.” Nobody said anything. “I guess you’re pretty set up on continuing.” He shrugged. “Well then, I’ll explain the rules now. It’s pretty simple, there are no rules.” He smirked. “The match won’t finish until one of you dies, gets knocked out, or forfeits. I can still stop the match, but that’s my decision.”

On the wall from the back, an electronic tablet appeared in one of the panels, which would decide the matches.

“The combatants will be randomly chosen. Without any more to say, let’s begin.”

The tablet started to launch names until two of them remained stable. The choice was definite when it made a high “beep” sound.

 

_ISAO_

_VS._

_TOMOYA_

 

“Good, the people whose names are on the tablet, please step forward. The rest of you, please retreat to the safe zone behind the railing.”

The two Iwagakure ninja walked to where Hayate was standing, and turned to face each other. “Who would’ve thought I’d fight you?” Isao commented with a malicious grin.

“It’s the perfect chance to show you how much I’ve improved. Don’t you think, Isao-san?” Tomoya returned his grin. The rest of the Genin stood on the elevated balcony and watched with interest the two opponents.

“Hey, Hanako, aren’t those—?” Takeshi inquired but Hanako interrupted him.

“Yes...” she replied without taking off her eyes from the Iwa ninjas. “That’s the team we encountered first in the Forest of Death. I never expected them to literally fight each other.”

“It’s a good opportunity to watch up close their abilities.” Kaito mentioned as he reached his students. Hanako looked at him for a moment, and then back to the match. “One from Konoha will have to deal with the last one remaining from Iwa after all.”


	22. One-on-One Combats

_“Iosh...” Hayate placed_ his hand in between the two Iwa opponents. “Begin!” He pulled away his hand and immediately retreated where the Hokage stood.

Tomoya launched himself to attack Isao with Taijutsu but every hit he tried to land the other would dodge easily. After realizing what he was doing was completely useless, he jumped away and pulled out a scroll from his pouch. He opened it over the ground, showing a  _kanji_  that read ‘water’. Tomoya made some seals before placing his foot right over the  _kanji,_ making water pour out of it like a stream. Hanako widened her eyes.

“A scroll for water summoning?!” She looked expectantly at her sensei who nodded.

“There’s infinite things you can summon. Although for some of them you require a contract, with animals for example.” The brunette nodded and focused once again on the match.

“ _Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu._ ” From the water he had summoned, a torrent formed into the shape of a shark and attacked Isao. He made some hand seals.

“ _Doton: Doryuuheki_.” Isao formed an earth wall that protected him from the water jutsu.

“Not bad.” Tomoya commented. “But what do you think about this?” He performed another set of hand seals. “ _Suiton: Yuudachi no Jutsu_.” He launched from his mouth a water stream that pierced Isao’s wall, making him jump, trying to keep the water from reaching him.

“You leave me no choice.” Isao muttered making a seal. “ _Meisaigakure no Jutsu_.” He suddenly disappeared, leaving everyone astounded.

 _‘That jutsu...’_ Hanako thought,  _‘that’s the camouflage jutsu. It makes him appear invisible and only people with a visual prowess or sensors would be able to locate him.’_

Tomoya noticeably tensed, he never thought Isao would use that technique against him. Now he was done for. He didn’t have a way of knowing where Isao was, and he could attack from anywhere he wanted and whenever he wanted. Without a warning, Isao attacked Tomoya from behind, sending him flying until he landed over the ground harshly. He stood up again with some difficulty. Isao started attacking him again. Tomoya couldn’t evade any of it since he couldn’t know where the attacks would be coming from. Isao then aimed for a kick in his jaw, finally leaving him unconscious. Tomoya was left motionless on the ground; Isao reappeared beside him. Hayate walked to them.

“The winner of the first match: Isao from Iwagakure.”

“How troublesome would it be to fight an enemy that you can’t see?” Takeshi wondered out loud. “But, even though he used that technique while fighting you, you were able to see him, Hana-chan...” He raised an eyebrow at his teammate waiting for an explanation.

“That’s because I had my Sharingan activated,” Hanako said. “With it I can see everyone’s chakra. It’s useless for him to use that jutsu against me and my eyes, since even though he appears invisible I can still see his chakra,” she added.

The medics came to the arena to pick up Tomoya’s body to take him to the hospital. Isao walked to the balconies were the rest of his team waited for him.

“Good, now with the second match,” Hayate announced. The tablet started picking names again until it made another beeping sound.

 

_TAKESHI KOMATSU_

_VS._

_KOHARU ANAMI_

 

“It’s your turn.” Hanako turned to look at her comrade with a wide smirk. He only rolled his eyes after seeing the names on the screen.

“Against that girl... And here I was hoping I wouldn’t face anyone from that team.” Takeshi sighed.

“You don’t have to worry, you’ll do fine. I don’t know what kind of abilities she might have, but don’t let your guard down just because she’s a girl.” Takeshi looked at her and nodded before walking down to the arena.

 

* * *

 

“It’s your turn, Koharu,” Hiroki said to his teammate.

“I know,” she replied, watching intently at the brunet boy standing in the middle of the arena, waiting for her. She then walked down as well.

“Well...Begin!” Hayate announced, when the two fighters were ready.

Koharu pulled some kunai from her pouch and threw them at Takeshi. However, he blocked them with one of his own, sending them away from him. Then, he threw his at her but Koharu dodged it by moving to the side. She focused part of her chakra on her feet and got ready for some Taijutsu.

“They only use weapons and Taijutsu?” Hiroki appeared behind Hanako, wanting to comment about the match. “I know that Koharu still doesn’t know how to manipulate her chakra nature, but your comrade...”

“Takeshi doesn’t know how to, either,” she replied. “Ninjutsu is still a bit complicated for him. Besides, he doesn’t even know his chakra nature.”

“I see.”

“But, if he makes an effort, he can manipulate his element I guess even better than how I manipulate fire. Although Takeshi prefers to avoid fighting, he battles only when he doesn’t really have a choice,” Hanako added.

“Is that why he’s the weakest on your team?” Hiroki raised an eyebrow.

“Takeshi isn’t weak,” Kaito said. “He’s actually one of the most prized Genin in these exams.” Both Genin turned to look at him; even Kazuki was now paying attention. “In the academy, he was one of the best at mastering the  _Bunshin_ and  _Kawarimi_  jutsus. He also had one of the highest grades. But his strong point has always been Taijutsu, especially in the use of weaponry. If he finds a sword, he would be one of the best users of Kenjutsu.”

“Kenjutsu?” Hanako tilted her head sideways.

“It’s the art of sword fighting,” Kazuki explained. Kaito nodded.

“Look.” We were all paying attention now at the fight. The two Genin were standing before each other with a kunai in hand, ready to attack. The first one to move was Koharu, Takeshi only waited for her to get close enough to him. They exchanged attacks and clashed their kunais some times. In one chance, Takeshi tangled his foot with hers, making Koharu lose her balance, but before she fell down he hit the pressure point in her neck, knocking her out.

“Amazing...” Hiroki commented. “Simple but effective.” Kaito nodded smiling proudly while Hayate confirmed that the match had ended.

“Hanako’s right, Takeshi’s a pacifist. He doesn’t like to fight unnecessarily. He ended the match before Koharu could get hurt just by knocking her out,” his sensei added.

“That’s it, that’s what I’m talking about, Takeshi!” Hanako shouted calling his attention. He looked up at her and smiled.

“The winner of the second match: Takeshi Komatsu from Konohagakure.” Hayate declared.

The medics took the unconscious Koharu to the hospital to lay her on a bed and wait for her to wake up. Takeshi walked up to where the rest of his team was. Hanako rushed at him and trapped him in a hug.

“You’re incredible! You’re the first of us who makes it to the final!” Takeshi returned her hug.

“Yeah...Thanks...” Hanako pulled away, finally letting him breathe.

“Congratulations, Takeshi,” Kaito said patting his shoulder. “Now you must train harder for the final round.” Takeshi nodded.

The tablet started beeping again and everyone turned to it, eager to know which would be the next match.

“Well, now we’ll proceed with the third encounter.” The tablet started picking names again until it finally beeped.

 

_HIROKI DAISHI_

_VS._

_KAICHI KAZEYAMA_

 

“Oh...” The Senju observed. “It’s your turn, Kaichi,” she said to her teammate who was watching Hiroki with widened eyes.

“I’m lost...” He muttered. “I won’t make it to the final round.” Hyori rolled her eyes.

“Always with negative comments, prove me that you’re useful for something more than whining and flirting.” She pushed him over the railing, making him fall face down over the ground.

“This can’t be...” The green haired boy commented while observing his opponent as he stood up and walked to the center of the arena. “I didn’t want to fight any of you guys and I have to fight him...” He jumped over the railing, landing subtly on the ground and walking to face the blond.

“Hiroki-san will end this quickly,” Ren commented while he and Hyori walked towards Hanako. “Kaichi’s never been good in one-on-one combats.”

The two Genin stood face to face. Kaichi was very nervous while, on the other hand, Hiroki radiated calmness from his pores.

“It’s okay.” Hiroki tried to calm the blond down. “I’ll go easy on you. Try to imagine this as training.” Kaichi nodded getting into a fighting stance.

“Begin!”

Kaichi ran at full speed, ready to attack Hiroki with Taijutsu. He thought about every time he observed Hyori training and imitated her, focusing his chakra on his arms and legs to make the hits and kicks stronger. Hiroki dodged all of his attacks and kicked him on his stomach, making Kaichi fall on his back and skid backwards. Hiroki then made some hand seals and just at the moment the blond got into his feet and ran towards him with his fist surrounded by chakra, ready to hit him, he formed an earth dome that barely cracked after Kaichi’s hit. Hiroki started morphing into the ground, disappearing from the arena temporarily.

“ _Doton: Dochuu Eigyo._ ” Kaichi didn’t notice when Hiroki appeared behind him and pulled him from the hem of his neck before disappearing again.

“What?” Kaichi was sent flying backwards. The blond managed to turn in the air and land on his feet. However, he was worried at not being able to locate his opponent. “Where...?” But before he could finish, a hand grabbed his ankle and pulled him to the ground.

“ _Doton: Shinjuuzanshu._ ” Kaichi was left hidden in the ground to the point where only his head was visible. Hiroki appeared beside him and looked at him with a half-smile.

“It’s over. There’s no way you can get out of there without some help.” Kaichi glared at him.

“Ha...ha...funny...This isn’t a very attractive jutsu, but I suppose I should have expected it... It’s okay, I lose now get me out of here,” the kid said moving all around, trying to get out but to no avail. Hiroki laughed and proceeded to help him.

“The winner of the third match: Hiroki Daishi from Konohagakure,” Hayate said.

Hiroki pulled Kaichi out of the ground and together they walked back to the upper balcony.

“Okay, let’s continue with the next match,” Gekko said but none of the Konoha Genin were paying attention to him.

“Very clever that of sinking him into the ground,” Hyori commented at Hiroki. “But next time you should consider sinking only his head, you know like an ostrich.” Everyone laughed except Kaichi who only gave her a death glare.

“You all have something against me...” He sighed resigned. Hanako was amused by the scene. A soft poke on her arm suddenly distracted her. She turned to look at Kazuki who was pointing at something. Her eyes then moved in its direction only to see the next two names on the screen. Her eyes widened.

“It seems I won the lottery,” Shun commented with a victorious smirk while looking at the tablet. Then his eyes drifted to the brunette who looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Finally I get to test the famous Sharingan for myself.”

The next match:

 

_SHUN_

_VS._

_HANAKO UCHIHA_

 

The girl walked down to the arena, followed by everyone’s eyes.

“Come on, Hanako!” she heard Takeshi shout. “Show that Iwa ninja what you’re made of.” Itachi crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the railing, his eyes were focused on the match at hand.

“We meet again,” Shun commented calmly when she stood in front of him. “You fought my comrade Isao before, in the Forest of Death.” Hanako looked at the aforementioned from the tip of her eye. He was watching the combat with interest. “But the two of us are pretty different.” Her attention focused once again on her opponent. “I want to test your strength, so please, give everything you’ve got.” The Uchiha girl narrowed her eyes at him.

“Well, enough talk.” The proctor interrupted them. “Begin!” They both launched shuriken at each other and these collided before falling to the ground. The two ninjas launched themselves at each other, ready for a Taijutsu match. They exchanged a couple attacks before Shun aimed for a hit in one of Hanako’s ribs, making her back away. Then he performed a series of hand seals and exhaled from his mouth a wind jutsu.

“ _Fuuton: Shinkuuha_.” Hanako activated her Sharingan so she could see the chakra in the jutsu and dodge it. Shun continued with this attack and Hanako continued dodging. She received a lot of cuts in her arms and legs but superficial since she moved out of the way just in time before the wind could inflict any more damage. The wind then stopped and Hanako stared for a second at her opponent before directing her hand to her weapon pouch.

“ _Katon: Housenka no Jutsu_.” The brunette sent a lot of tiny fireballs at Shun.

“Too easy...” he muttered making some hand seals. He straightened his two arms at the fireballs and directed his wind towards them. The wind turned off the fire but was surprised to find shuriken in their place moving faster towards him thanks to the impulse the wind gave them. “What?!” His eyes widened as he jumped to the side. Hanako quickly ran towards him while making a new set of seals. If he continued to use wind, it’d only make her fire attacks stronger.

“ _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu._ ” She made a great fireball that rushed towards the Iwa ninja. She smirked victoriously when the fire consumed her opponent and relaxed closing her eyes.

“Oh no...no...no...” Not even a second later Hanako heard Shun behind her clicking his tongue. “You shouldn’t let your guard down like that.” She quickly turned around to feel his hand around her neck, clasping it tightly. “It’s over.” Hanako widened her eyes when she noticed that Shun had pulled out a knife. He started lifting her up until her feet could no longer feel the ground, due to her size this was an easy thing for him. She reached her hands to Shun’s arm and started clawing at it in a weak intent to make him release her. But he just tightened his hold around her neck, almost suffocating her. Hanako’s vision started to turn blurry due to the lack of air.

“Dammit...” Her eyelids were starting to become heavy. She felt so weak she could no longer support her arms anymore so she let them fall at each side of her body.

Hayate was observing attentively the match when he sighed.

“Well...I guess this match is over. The winner of the fourth match is...”


	23. An Intense Battle

_Hanako could still_ feel Shun’s tight hold around her neck. Her breathing hitched, becoming shallower each time. She could feel her strength slipping away as her arms fell numb to her sides. She closed her eyes, waiting for the proctor to declare the fight was over.

Hayate’s voice echoed in the arena, Hanako relaxed. “Well, I guess the match is over. The winner of the fourth encounter is¾”

Takeshi’s loud voice interrupted the proctor, Hayate fell silent. “What the hell are you doing, Hanako?!” Hanako opened her eyes slowly, dark blotches stained her vision. From the tip of her eyes she could see Takeshi, leaning against the railing as he yelled at her. “What the hell is wrong with you, Uchiha?!” he repeated. Hanako frowned slightly, trying to cough due to the lack of air in her lungs. But she couldn’t thanks to the hand still gripping her throat. “I don’t know who you are, but you are definitely _not_ my teammate!” Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line, starting to feel the numbness in them as well. Everything seemed to be floating around her, and Takeshi’s voice had become distant. “Hanako would never give up that easily! She’s not a weakling!” The Uchiha girl balled her hands into fists with the little strength she still had left. “So tell me,” Takeshi continued, his lips had curled up into a mocking grin as his eyes expressed incredulity. “Who the hell are you, _weakling_?!”

Hanako flexed her knee and kicked away the Shinobi by hitting him in his stomach with all of her strength. Shun let go of her as he grabbed his abdomen painfully. Hanako fell onto all fours as she coughed furiously, her lungs trying to inhale all the air they could. Her vision fell into focus, and she looked up at her teammate with a death glare. “Takeshi!” she snapped at him. “Just you wait until I’m done with him, and then I’m coming at you.”

Takeshi flinched and pulled away from the railing, hiding behind a chuckling Kazuki. When she sensed movement, Hanako activated her Sharingan and looked back at Shun. He was standing, looking back at the girl with furious eyes¾his hand still placed over his belly. Hanako launched herself in an attack towards him; she had become quicker and more precise, to the point where Shun could barely keep up with her. He dodged all of her attacks, not letting her land a single hit on him, though, but he didn’t have the opportunity to lounge back at her.

In an opening, Hanako managed to land another kick on Shun’s stomach, sending him backwards. However, Hanako still needed to find a way to defeat him. She made the hare seal with her hands, recalling what Ko had done in their previous battle. “ _Raiton: Akari Raimei,_ ” Hanako placed her palms on the ground, feeling as a bolt of electricity moved towards Shun and emerged around him, consuming him in the process. She could hear his agonizing screams and she narrowed her eyes, observing him.

When the shock stopped, Shun’s body was smoking, heavily burnt. He raised his head and looked at her, making chills run down her spine. His eyes were darkened with hatred. He quickly pulled out a kunai from his pouch, ignoring the serious burns along his arms; and he ran towards her. He ran with the full intention of killing her.

Hanako also produced a knife, holding it tightly in her hands. When Shun stood right in front of her, Hanako froze. He might have had the intention to kill her, but did she didn’t have the same intention towards him.

It happened so fast, but for Hanako it was like time suddenly slowed down. She could see Shun approaching her with a killing intent, and she could also see herself pointing the tip of her knife towards him. She didn’t move, but he crashed against her knife. She stopped breathing when warm liquid wetted her hands. She looked down and gasped at the large drops of blood staining the floor. Shun’s blood.

He leaned closer to mutter next to her ear. “You heard us speaking in the Forest of Death,” he said matter-of-factly, as if there weren’t a knife stuck in his middle at all. “Talking about a ninja who killed thousands of Iwa ninja, among them Isao’s father,” he moved closer and lowered his volume. “And also mine.” Unconsciously, Hanako remembered all that had happened that night. But why was he mentioning it at a moment like that? Did he know she was there? Did he know she was responsible? The thought of it only made her stomach twist painfully. Hanako closed her eyes tightly. Shun was the one with the knife plunged into him, but Hanako could feel the pain as if it were her. “I am aware someone from Konoha did it,” Shun continued. “But I am also sure it was not a Jounin like everyone thinks.” He chuckled dryly. “I was there, I saw what happened.”

That knife was supposed to be inside of her and not him, Hanako thought. She was the one who deserved it, not he. “I was just buying some groceries with my mother. Father had a mission in that small town, and we wanted to come with him. That town was famous for its juicy apples, and I wanted some. Mother was only trying to get me what I wanted, while Father was only doing his job. We were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe we should have just stayed home with Deidara. He was really upset when we left him with our uncle.” Hanako let go of the knife, and it slowly slid out of Shun’s wound and fell to the ground in a metallic clatter. Hanako could hear people screaming at her, but it was all just muffled voices. Everything seemed so distant. “The night it happened, I had decided to take a late promenade, and walk around town after the sun had set. Little did I know that there would be a battle just outside of town. I watched all Konoha Shinobi being murdered; I remember one of them had a white and red fan crest on its back.” Hanako was looking into the distance, not focusing on anything, and just listening to Shun’s words. He suddenly lost his balance, and dug his nails into her shoulders for support. Hanako didn’t even flinch. He leaned against her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Shun coughed, and blood trickled down his chin, staining Hanako’s clothes. “The crest of the Uchiha Clan, just like yours. Just like the one from the girl who burst a hole into one of the gas tanks, and then lit up the town on fire.” Hanako stopped breathing, hoping that maybe if she did she would just drop dead. But she knew it didn’t work that way. She wasn’t the one taking her last breath. “Tell me, Hanako Uchiha, was it you?”

Hanako felt tears in her eyes, but her cheeks were dry. “Did you realize…” Shun continued. “That you killed my family, and probably a lot more?” His voice broke. “I had to return home alone. I had to tell my little brother that our parents had been killed, that I had failed to protect them. Have you any idea what that is like?” Hanako’s eyes burned, and she had to close them.

“I am sorry.”

“You should be,” blood pooled around them, and they both knew that Shun would die soon. He had lost too much blood, too much to recover. He was still conscious because of his power of will. “One day you will know what it’s like, Hanako Uchiha; and when that happens, you will remember what you did.” Shun pulled away from her and looked straight into her eyes. Hanako opened her eyes, a deep black color surrounding her pupil.

“I didn’t have a choice…” she said softly, but even though Shun had his eyes fixed on her, he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was distant, and his eyes opaque, the life in them gone. “Please, forgive me,” she tried to say but she knew deep inside that he wasn’t listening. Not anymore. “Shun…please…” Not able to hold himself, he fell forward onto his knees. Hanako tried to hold him, but he was heavier than what she could manage. Dead weight. “NO!” she screamed.

“SHUN!” Isao yelled from the railing. Hanako trembled furiously, her eyes wide in terror. She didn’t mean to kill him, it wasn’t her intention; but it was her fault. His death was on her, it was her responsibility.

Hanako realized she was still in the arena, but still too shell-shocked to react. Isao was cursing at her, telling her a thousand ways in which he would kill her. But she wasn’t listening to him, she was only looking at Shun’s dead body; his eyes were still open and looking at her.

She jumped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. “It’s over, Hanako.” Kaito’s familiar voice tried to assure her, but Hanako felt like nothing would be able to make her feel better. There was a certain coldness inside her that refused to be warmed. “Are you okay?” he asked. Hanako started to pant; the cold expanded to each of her limbs, and she trembled more. Her breathing increased, to the point where her chest hurt. But she couldn’t slow down, much less stop, and it hurt. Hanako fell to her knees, breathing quickly and with her eyes closed tightly. “Where is the medical squad?!” Kaito yelled.

“She’s hyperventilating,” a doctor approached them, crouching beside to brunette. When he reached to her, Hanako pushed him away and pushed herself onto her feet. Her breathing hadn’t slowed down, but she ran towards the doors of the arena. All she needed was to get out of there, she thought. So that’s what she did. She just wanted it all to be over.

Kaito looked at her retreating figure with astonishment, and then his eyes fell on another figure that jumped from the railing, lunging towards the door when it hit the floor. Shisui.

 

* * *

 

“The winner of the fourth encounter: Hanako Uchiha from Konohagakure,” Hayate announced. Shun’s body fell to the ground, leaving Hanako stunned in her place. She was trembling, and zoned out. Kaito stood behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Everyone just stared in silence as the body of Shun was taken away by the medical squad, just at the moment the girl started to breathe irregularly, and fall to her knees while holding her chest. One of the medics ran towards her after her teacher called for help, but she pushed him away and ran towards the door.

“Where’s Hanako going?” Takeshi asked his sensei when he came back to his team.

“She wanted to leave. She needs some time on her own to clear her mind,” Kaito explained as a frown formed on his face when he remembered the talk he had with Anko when the second phase was about to finish.

_“Kaito, have you heard the news? The Hokage wants to do preliminaries.” Anko appeared next to him when he was walking towards the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death, place where he was supposed to greet his students after they finished the second exam._

_“So?” He observed the Kunoichi, who was looking at him with a playful smirk, from the tip of his eye._

_“Well, I’ll be able to finally see the abilities of your little Uchiha student. People are talking so much about her that they already got me excited,” she said. “What do you think? Maybe she’ll bring us a big surprise.” Kaito observed her for a while. “Although I hope she doesn’t kill her opponent, that would be going too far, but I must admit that it would be interesting.”_

_“Hanako’s not like that. She wouldn’t kill her opponent...” He dared to say, although he silently hoped for the same._

_“Maybe...” Anko chuckled. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”_

Kaito’s frown deepened when his eyes fell on the woman who had been haunting his thoughts. She was approaching him with her so known playful smirk.

“I thought you said your dear student wasn’t like that, capable of killing.” Anko rested against the railing next to him. “In the end I was right, it was a pretty interesting fight, don’t you think?” When he heard her, Kaito tightened his fists. “At the beginning I thought the Iwa brat would win, but after that lecture from other one of your brats, Hanako seemed to recover instantly. But I never imagined that she would go as far as to kill him.”

“No, she didn’t do it.” Anko looked at him expectantly.

“What do you mean?” she asked making Kaito sigh. All of the Jounin and Genin around him were waiting patiently for him to speak.

“It was more a suicide than a murder.”

“A suicide?” Anko raised an eyebrow. “But it was Hanako’s kunai that pierced his chest.”

“But it was the brat who launched himself to the kunai.” Kaito snapped. “Didn’t you notice? The only thing Hanako did was leave her knife with the tip facing him. Shun also had a weapon himself, he could have dodge it, but he didn’t.”

After Shun’s body was taken, and the blood was cleaned, Hayate cleared his throat to announce the next match.

“Why would he do that?” Anko wondered.

“Right now, the only person that would understand him is Hanako,” the kunoichi chuckled.

“I don’t know but I’ve got this feeling that something big is about to happen,” she commented, licking her lips.

“I don’t like it when you have these feelings; they’re bound to be bad,” Kaito confessed before focusing his attention back on the arena.

 

_HYORI SENJU_

_VS._

_KAZUKI MITOKADO_

 

Both Genin were already standing in the battlefield, face to face, ready to begin.

“This is the fifth encounter. Begin!” Hayato backed away, and the two combatants got into a fighting stance.

“I wouldn’t want to leave you too badly hurt, so you better give me all you’ve got,” Hyori commented with a smirk.

“You speak as if you already had the upper hand.” Kazuki made some hand seals. “ _Suiton: Mizurappa._ ” Kazuki launched a great amount of water from his mouth which was directed towards the Senju, who made some seals of her own.

“ _Mokuton: Mokujouheki._ ” Hyori made appear several wooden pillars that surrounded her, forming a dome that protected her from the water.

“Are you just going to hide?” Kazuki mocked her while chuckling. This made the Senju angry and she made some hand seals for a water technique.

“ _Suiton: Yuudachi no Jutsu._ ” Hyori’s water pierced through her own dome and was directed blindly towards the black haired boy. Kazuki jumped away from the stream, letting it hit against the wall and make it crack.

“Wow, that jutsu really does cause a great damage...” he muttered, thinking of what he should do now. Once he landed, he barely had any time to process what happened when Hyori kicked him in the stomach, sending him backwards. He landed on his back and skidded backwards due to the impulse of the hit.

“Not even Hanako is able to beat me in Taijutsu,” the brunette said prideful. Kazuki stood up and stared at her.

“Did you really fight? That time...” Hyori narrowed her eyes at his inquiry.

“Yes...It was a Genjutsu, but it was real enough to be considered a fight.” She pulled out some kunai with explosive tags attached to them and launched them, leaving them nailed surrounding Kazuki. “I’ll show you one of my movements I used on her.” Hyori made a seal, making all the tags explode. Kazuki defended himself with his arms from the explosions. These caused a dark smoke to cover the entire arena, hindering the Mitokado’s vision.

After memorizing Kazuki’s location, Hyori walked into the smoke and started attacking him with Taijutsu. Kazuki could barely handle the Senju’s speed, he managed to dodge only a few hits. He tried to make a seal, but another kick sent him out of the cloud of smoke. Hyori smirked at him but it soon disappeared when the brat landed and soon transformed into a log.

“You’re good in Taijutsu.” Kazuki appeared behind her. “But don’t think that with just that you’ll be able to defeat me.” Hyori turned around in a blink of an eye, ready to strike her opponent but she was suddenly surprised by this person, grabbing her wrist tightly, keeping her from inflicting any damage.

“Tsk!” The Senju dedicated a glare at him. “Don’t underestimate me!” The girl turned into wood, surprising all of the present.

“A clone?!” Kazuki let go of it instantly. “When?!” From the wood of the dome, roots laced themselves and started to take the form of the Senju. “What is this? Another clone?” Kazuki raised an eyebrow.

Hyori looked up at him with her intense blue orbs. “This time, I’ll make sure you fall,” she said menacingly while pointing her thumbs downward.

 

* * *

 

“Tell me that you have something interesting to inform me,” a deep voice echoed through the cave, sending chills up Shiro Zetsu’s spine. He chuckled.

“I just witnessed Hanako’s fight in the preliminaries,” he said. “She’s good, but she still has so much she could improve with proper training.”

“Apart from that, how did it go?” The voice, clearly belonging to a mature man, asked again.

“She won,” Zetsu seemed pleased with himself, as if he was somehow proud of Hanako’s achievement. “In fact, she _killed_ her adversary.” He observed the man before him, waiting for some sort of reaction from him; but the man only smirked.

“What would you expect?” he said, his tone oddly mocking. “She’s an Uchiha, and before that, she’s the girl I’ve been looking for.”

“I guess you’re right…”

“How are her eyes?” The man was sitting in a chair, carved out of wood, miserably trying to mimic a throne. He had no intention of moving since he was largely deteriorated by age. His long white hair barely covered the numerous wrinkles in his face ¾half of it was covered by his hair, leaving only one of his eyes at sight.

“She has already mastered the regular Sharingan,” Zetsu informed him.

“What about her memory?” he added, “Does she remember who she is, or ¾rather¾ who she used to be?”

“No, I’m afraid she doesn’t.”

The man scoffed, as if having guessed so in advance. “Very well, tell Obito to bring her to me.” Zetsu’s pale lips curled up into a faint smirk.

“ _Hai_ , Madara-sama.”

 

* * *

 

Hanako hurried away from the tower, running as fast as her legs would let her, hoping to get out of the forest without encountering any monstrosity there. She reached the metallic fence, and jumped over it, landing on her feet. After that, she walked the rest of the way, until she reached the only place she could reach peace: the lake. When the Hokage had given the Uchiha the order of relocation, the first place Hanako had discovered was the lake. It was like it had called to her, drawing her to it. She stood on the dock for a while, staring ahead into the distance, before she let herself fall on the water.

            Hanako observed the surface as she continued to let herself sink to the bottom. The sunlight reflected on the water created a beautiful pattern of waves. Hanako exhaled and closed her eyes, feeling numb once again.

            A splash was heard, and she was suddenly pulled back to the surface. Out of the water, her lungs contracted and Hanako was forced to draw air. She coughed furiously as she was carefully laid on the dock.

“Are you all right?” Hanako heard Shisui’s voice and opened her eyes. She supposed he had followed her after her scene in the Forest of Death.

“Yeah...” she replied still panting. Shisui sighed and took a seat beside her on the dock. Now they were both soaking water and cold. Hanako looked at the water and shivered. She had just tried to drown herself, she thought with tears in her eyes. Shisui looked at her and put a hand on her cheek.

“Everything is all right,” he said. “Hanako, please don’t do that again.” Hanako just remained silent, watching the small waves that were formed on the surface of the lake due to the influence of the wind.

“I’m sorry,” she finally muttered. “I didn’t mean to kill him...” Hanako’s voice was barely audible but loud enough for Shisui to hear her.

“I know.”

“Why…?” Hanako tightened her hands into fists, gritting her teeth as she spoke. “Why did it have to be like this?”

“Listen. I understand the first kill must have been shocking but¾”

“YOU’RE WRONG!” Hanako yelled at him, turning quickly to look at him. Her eyes were brimming with tears. When she realized she had lifted her voice at Shisui, she looked away from him, sitting up slowly. Shisui pulled away his hand. “It’s not the first time I kill someone...” she added in a lower volume. The elder Uchiha looked at her with his eyes wide. Upon noticing this, the brunette wrapped her arms around herself. “Shisui, can you keep a secret?” He nodded. 

“I’m not telling a soul.” His glance became serious as he seemed to ponder it for a bit. “I swear.”

 

* * *

 

“The winner of the fifth encounter: Hyori Senju from Konohagakure,” Hayate declared.

“Hyori, you did it!” Kaichi yelled at her from the balcony. The brunette looked up at him and smiled before walking to them.

“Well done, Hyori,” Ren commented once his teammate reached his side, while watching as Kazuki was being taken by the medics. He had received quite a beating from the girl. “It’s a shame that the Uchiha wasn’t here to watch.”

“Hm, it doesn’t matter. I’ll have enough time to show her later,” Hyori commented as her eyes focused on the screen ¾waiting for the last match.

 

_ITACHI UCHIHA_

_VS._

_REN SONODA_

 

“Uchiha, huh?” Hyori smirked while eyeing the black haired boy descending to the battlefield. “This one’s going to be interesting.” Ren watched him walk to the center of the arena.

“I wonder...” he muttered. Hyori turned to look at him. “What could be the difference between Hanako and him, will I stand a chance?”

“Who knows?” Hyori shrugged. “But there’s only one way to find out, Ren.” She dedicated him a playful smirk. “And you can’t forfeit, I won’t let you.” Ren sighed before he walked down the stairs and towards the middle of the arena.

“Now that I notice, Shisui seems to be gone.” Anko commented, looking around for the teen who was supposed to be the proctor for the second match, but he was absent. Kaito turned to look at her.

“I saw him run after Hanako. I don’t think he will be back any time soon, and even less without me noticing him,” he said.

“Hey, he’s  _Shunshin no Shisui_  after all... He’s not to be taken lightly,” Anko added with a chuckle, making Kaito frown.

“I’ve been watching for him all this time, he hasn’t returned.”

“Fine, fine.” Anko sighed. “I didn’t suppose he was willing to miss Itachi’s fight though, I thought they were friends.” Kaito just shrugged.


	24. The Sweet Smell of a Flower

_Shisui remained silent_ as he focused on Hanako’s story. She talked to him about the mission she went to with her father, and everything that there happened, including all the details of how he died and how she burnt down the entire village. When she was done, Shisui looked at her for a moment before drifting his gaze back to the lake and sighing.

“Hanako...I really don’t know what to say...”

“Then don’t say anything, it’s not as if I were expecting you could help me anyway...” she replied without taking her eyes off her reflection. “I miss my father, though...I wish none of this had happened.” Shisui’s eyes moved back to her as he looked at her with sadness, how could this world be so bad that a girl like Hanako would already have to handle so much pain at such a young age?

Shisui’s eyes drifted to the forest across the lake; there he saw a yellow flower planted at the edge of the water body. He smiled to himself as he stood up. Hanako looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you leaving?” she asked but he didn’t reply. He disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared at the other side of the lake. “What? That was fast!” Shisui heard her and let out a chuckle.

“Do you know what they call me, Hanako?” Shisui asked, truly curious. The girl tilted her head, giving him a lost look, showing him that she didn’t understand what he meant.

“What they call you?” Shisui nodded. Hanako just laughed at the thought. “What…you make it sound like they call you names…like some sort of mockery. Are you sure you’re supposed to be proud of that?”

“I guess your sarcasm doesn’t wear off even after feeling depressed a few minutes ago…” Shisui raised an eyebrow. “ _Shunshin no Shisui,_ ” he added with a small smirk. “I was granted this name in the Third War to which I was forced to participate in at the age of nine.”

“Nine?”

“Yeah... Those were difficult times.” He lowered himself to pick up the yellow flower, then he moved quickly to stand beside the Uchiha girl with it in his hand. “Maybe I can teach it to you one day.” He suggested, handing her the plant. She took it with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s a daffodil,” he explained. Hanako played with the flower in her hand, contemplating it. “I know what it’s like,” Shisui suddenly said. “Losing your father so soon, wanting to have spent more time with him, and feeling that it wasn’t enough.” Hanako sighed. “But I knew that I had to move on, so every time I feel down, I just think of something I like and let it take my pain away.” Hanako didn’t reply. “Do you like flowers?” She finally looked up at him and nodded. “Think about it this way, every time you smell a flower, you are going to let go of all of your problems. Clear your mind, okay?” Hanako nodded again.

“Alright.” She did as he said and closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet smell. She let go of everything that bothered her and smiled a real smile. “It’s...nice.”

“Just like you are,” Shisui said. “Whenever you’re not bothering everyone around you with your fake sarcasm.” Hanako looked up at him with widened eyes. He was smiling down at her, a knowing smile. She looked back at the lake. “I know you just pretend to be mean so you can shut everyone out. Damn it, Hanako, I’ve known you for years. You should know I can read you like an open book.”

“You’re a nuisance,” Hanako said with a faint smile on her lips. “Just like my sister is.”

Shisui sighed, “Hanako, drop it. I think it’s time for you to accept that whatever happened, it’s done.”

“Or else? Mother will be next? Or Hikari?” Hanako scoffed. “Come on, Shisui! I should have died there! Everyone thinks so!” she snapped, glaring up at him. Shisui was so shocked he was left speechless. “You think I don’t know? About the meetings? About the rumors? About why Fugaku-sama wanted to train me so badly and teach me how to defend myself? You think I don’t know about the elders’ obvious interest in me?”

“But do you know why?” Shisui finally said, shutting Hanako. “Do you know why they’re so interested in you?”

Hanako took a deep breath and turned back to the lake.  “No. They never bothered to tell me.”

Shisui pondered, should he tell her about Amane and why Fugaku swore she was her reincarnation, or should he tell her later when she calmed down a bit? He voted ‘later’, pressing his lips into a thin line. With a shake of his head, he changed the subject. “So,” Shisui sat back down next to her. “What did the Iwa ninja told you before he...”

“Died?” Shisui nodded. “Well, he told me about his mother, that they were in that village to buy some groceries and visiting their father, who was also one of the ninja who participated in the ambush. Shun knew that I was the one who killed them but he didn’t say anything until now.” Hanako furrowed her brows.

“I see... You know, this year the participants in the Chunnin Exam were mostly from Konoha and Iwa.” The elder Uchiha commented, “Without a doubt, the Tsuchikage will be coming to watch the final matches.”

“The Tsuchikage?” Hanako looked at him surprised, the last subject forgotten. Shisui only nodded.

“Supposedly, Konoha and Iwa had signed a peace treaty... But after what happened, I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“A peace treaty?” Hanako stood up. “If they signed it then why the hell did they ambush us?!”

“I don’t know.” Shisui narrowed his eyes. “That’s what’s got me worried.” Hanako sighed. They were left in silence until the brunette spoke again.

“Shouldn’t you be watching the rest of the preliminaries? You are a proctor after all, and you’re going to miss Itachi’s fight if you stay here.”

“Don’t worry, I already know Itachi’s going to win,” he said with a smirk. He stood up and walked beside her. “Anyway, I was meaning to ask, why are you covered in bandages?” he asked as he placed his finger over the patch on her cheek.

“Burns,” she replied as she untied the bandage in her arm to show him, but was surprised to find it already healed.

“Wow, that’s a pretty serious burn. You should go to the hospital to get it checked.” Shisui raised an eyebrow at her.

“This is weird…” Hanako mumbled. “It’s only been five days; a burn doesn’t heal that quickly.” She untied all the bandages around her arms, to find them as healthy as ever.

“Maybe you’re just a fast healer.” He shrugged as he took off the patch on her cheek.

“Yeah, it was probably the ointment Ren gave me.” Shisui stared up and down at her, as if analyzing her intently. Hanako started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. “Is there something wrong?”

“Didn’t you receive cuts in your battle with Shun?” Hanako thought about it and realized that he was right. She checked herself and noticed that there wasn’t a single cut on her skin; even under her cut clothes she was intact.

“Well, now... _this_  is weird.” Shisui pulled out a kunai from his pouch and took Hanako’s arm, grazing it with the knife. “Hey! What the hell...?” She started saying but instantly shut up as both Uchiha observed amazed at how the wound started to heal itself and disappeared without leaving any trace of being on her skin.

“Okay...healing abilities...You always surprise me with something new, Hanako...” Shisui stared at her. “But this explains why I’ve never seen a single wound on you ¾not even after receiving a serious beating¾, what else do you hide?”

“What do you mean by that?” Hanako narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t even know myself.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” He threw the kunai, nailing it on a tree at the other side of the lake. “And we’ve got a month of training before the final exam,” he added, observing the girl with a devious smirk.

“Why do I get this strange feeling that you’re not going easy on me?”

“Well, if your body heals like that, then we’re not going to have trouble with intense training, right? After all, you’re going to heal even though you end up badly hurt,” he said with a playful smirk, making her gulp with widened eyes.

“That’s an abuse!”

 

* * *

 

The last Genin prepared themselves for their fight, facing each other.

“Alright, this is the last preliminary match,” Hayate announced. “Once the battle is over, the Genin moving onto the final round will be officially chosen.”

“I think I’m not that excited to participate in it anymore,” Ren confessed as he looked toward the balconies.

“Are you scared?” Itachi asked with a faint mock in his voice.

“No, but I have a feeling that something’s going to happen in these exams.” Ren glanced towards the Uchiha.

“What do you mean by that?” Itachi raised an eyebrow at him.

“Look over there.” He pointed at Isao, who was watching them intently. Itachi looked at him.

“His look...” He muttered loud enough for Ren to hear him.

“Of pure hatred…” Ren confirmed. “I want you to win, Uchiha. Although I bet that it won’t be difficult for you to beat me.” Itachi turned back his glance at him. “Those guys from Iwagakure really give me the creeps.”

“Begin!” Hayate announced.

“You’re not the only one.” Itachi replied before launching himself with a kunai towards his opponent. Ren deflected it with his own kunai. For a moment he thought he saw a pair of red eyes observing him, but when his eyes met the Uchiha’s, they were as black as a raven’s feather. His Sharingan wasn’t activated, or so he thought. Itachi had wrapped his hand around one of Ren’s ankles and had lifted it up making him fall to the ground.

“Ow!” Ren whined before taking out a bunch of shuriken from his pouch and throwing them towards the Uchiha. He dodged them easily and let go of the blue haired’s ankle. Ren stood up in a second, keeping a firm hold on his knife. Itachi attacked him again and they both exchanged hits until Ren in a quick movement managed to catch the Uchiha between him and the wall, placing his kunai on his neck.

“I can’t believe this...” Ren widened his eyes. “I really did it...” He smiled victoriously. “I defeated you...An Uchiha...”

“I think you are confusing our roles,” Itachi calmly said, not fazed by the weapon threatening his life. “You should pay attention to your position.”

“What do you mean?” Ren frowned, noticing that Itachi’s eyes suddenly became red with the common design of the Sharingan. His heart stopped for a second and he felt the muscles in his stomach tighten. Ren closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A pressure in his neck made him return to reality. He opened his eyes again, noticing that they had exchanged roles and this time he was the one pinned against the wall.

“This is your real position.” Itachi told him with a smirk.

“Genjutsu...” Ren muttered. “I see.”

“ _Iosh._  The winner of the last encounter: Itachi Uchiha from Konohagakure. With this, the preliminary matches finally come to an end,” Hayate declared, standing in the middle of the arena. Itachi let go of Ren. “Now, I need the winners of the encounters to come down here. The rest of you are free to go.” Itachi walked towards the center, followed by the rest of the winners.

“You didn’t have mercy with that kid.” Hiroki appeared next to him.

“He didn’t want to win; I just granted him the pleasure,” the Uchiha replied making his teammate chuckle.

“Yeah...right.”

Kaichi jumped down to his teammates’s side. “Come on Ren, Hyori stays but we have to leave. Hiroshi-sensei will take us out of this forest.”

“Yeah...” Ren observed one last time the Iwa ninja who was staring at him with narrowed eyes. After that he turned his glance to the Senju. “Be careful, Hyori…” he muttered softly before following Kaito and Hiroshi out of the arena. She nodded and proceeded to where the rest of the Genin were.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you who made it to the final round.” The Hokage said. “Now, I will proceed to explain what the final match will be about. Different from the preliminaries, the third round will be performed before the public in the Konoha Stadium, or how I like to call it, the Chunnin Exam’s Special Arena. As you probably already know, there’ll be important spectators such as feudal lords and the Tsuchikage, and some other possible mission candidates. Including me, we will all act as judges to your battles.”

“Judges?” Hiroki inquired, the Hokage nodded.

“Yes. We will decide which of you has what’s needed to become a Chunnin,” the Hokage explained as he smoked from his pipe. “However, with this the second phase of the exam is finally finished. The final round is scheduled a month from today. That gives me the time to send formal invitations to other countries, and you the time to train in everything you need to improve for your battle. The preliminaries were made for you to demonstrate how you would fight against an opponent from whom you know nothing about, to demonstrate how you would adapt to the situation.” A smile tugged Itachi’s lips as he thought of Hanako when the Hokage said this. “This time we’re going to tell you who your opponent will be so we can evaluate your ability to plan a strategy. So I expect you to come well prepared.”

“Is that it?” the Uchiha inquired.

“No, now I need something from you before you leave. Anko.” The Hokage called. A kunoichi with violet spiky hair appeared next to him, holding a box in her hands.

“I need each one of you to draw a piece of paper from the box. I’ll pass the box, so there’s no need for you to move.” Anko said before passing box to everyone so they could take their paper. “Hanako Uchiha is not here,” Anko commented once everyone had drawn their piece, while looking at the remaining one in the box.

“It doesn’t matter.” The Hokage said as he eyed all of the Genin, who looked at the piece of paper confused. “Now I need each one of you to tell me the number you have written on your paper.” Ibiki started to take note of all the numbers in his own paper.

“Start from the left. One by one, please,” he said.

“Four.” The Uchiha started.

“One.” Hiroki followed him.

“Six.” Isao declared with a grin.

“Two.” Takeshi said, clearing his throat.

“Three.” Hyroi narrowed her eyes at Ibiki, who wrote each number on his paper, what was the purpose of this?

“Then Hanako must be number five.” The Hokage nodded. “Good, the final matches have been decided then,” he said while he directed his attention towards the Jounin that had been taking notes. Ibiki showed them the order of the matches and who would be facing who.

“Great, I’m the first one.” Hiroki felt a bead of sweat on his forehead once he saw who his opponent was.

“ _We_  are the first ones,” Takeshi corrected him while his face was decorated with a smirk.

“I guess I should have expected it…” Hyori commented it while she turned to look at the black haired boy. “I’m fighting against an Uchiha.” Itachi remained silent as he returned the glance. Isao, in contrariwise, kept his eyes locked on the paper, as a playful smirk tugged at his lips.

“It looks like I get to avenge you, Shun.” He chuckled menacingly as he stared at his opponent’s name. “This time I won’t let you get away, _Hanako Uchiha._ ”

 

* * *

 

That night, Shisui met Itachi in their special place where they would always meet to discuss important matters for them. The Naka Waterfall was the only place where Shisui would feel comfortable telling Itachi stuff, especially concerning his problems. “How did it go?” he asked when he sensed Itachi near.

“I’m fighting against Hyori Senju,” Itachi said. “I defeated her teammate in just a minute.”

Shisui scoffed. “I couldn’t expect any less from you, could I, Mr. Prodigy?” he asked. “Anyway, who’s Hanako up against to?”

“Isao.”

Shisui frowned, finally turning to look at Itachi. After a moment, he sighed, and turned back to watch the waterfall. “I see…”

Itachi didn’t know if he should ask or not, but the words were out of his mouth before he realized he was speaking. “How’s Hanako? Is she okay?” Shisui looked at him with a hint of smirk before turning away.

“Yeah, you know how she is… She opens up briefly to let everything out, and then she’s back to her sarcastic self. We’re going to begin our training tomorrow anyway, in case you wanted to show.”

Itachi smiled slightly, but refused the offer. “I promised Sasuke we would train together. And Hiroki wanted me to accompany him to visit Koharu, she’s at the hospital after Takeshi knocked her out.”

“Right, I had forgotten…” Shisui nodded.

“Did she really kill him? Shun, I mean…”

“Yes.” Shisui crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking up at the sky. “I already talked to her about it, but she still feels guilty. So, please, don’t mention anything to her if you come across her.” Itachi just nodded, knowing it was a silly action since Shisui wasn’t looking at him. Somehow, Shisui sensed his intention, though. “Did she show any suspicious behaviors in the exam?” Shisui asked. “You know, regarding Amane and her condition…”

“Not that I’m aware of…” Itachi said. “We completed the exam around the sixth hour, it’s not like I had a lot of time to observe her.”

“She has healing abilities,” Shisui blurted. “You didn’t notice that, did you?”

“Healing abilities?” Itachi frowned. “Like?”

“I cut her arm with a knife,” Shisui turned to look at him with a serious face. “She healed from the cut in seconds.”

Itachi widened his eyes slightly. “In seconds?”

Shisui sighed, looking at the grass beneath his feet. “It’s quite confusing. She has abilities I have never heard of; but when I look at Amane’s file and her descriptions, I can’t help but think they are describing Hanako. Even if they’re not.”

“Is healing mentioned in Amane’s file?”

“I’m not sure. It’s not like I have memorized every single line of the document.” Shisui looked at Itachi. “But I can always check.”

“Sensory abilities, self-healing, natural affinity towards Genjutsu,” Itachi started to list all the traits they regarded in Hanako. “What else?”

“She’s fast…like unnaturally fast, I should check up on that as well,” Shisui added. “We should ask her about History,” he suddenly suggested. “You know, ask her stuff that Amane would know. Force her memory to come back to her.”

“Is that even possible?” Itachi wondered. “You know…in terms of physiology, Hanako has a different brain. It’s not like Amane’s memories should be stored in it.”

Shisui glared at Itachi. “Why must you always point out the obvious and discard every irrational possibility when you have the chance?”

“I wasn’t discarding it¾”

“Sure, you weren’t.” Shisui shook his head. “Anyway, I have to go. See you later, Itachi.” Itachi looked at Shisui as he walked past him and into the forest that would take him back to the compound. Itachi sighed and looked at the waterfall. He was just as curious as Shisui and his father were of finding out if Hanako was really the reincarnation of Amane Uchiha. Not because he was worried she might turn out just as she was, which apparently ¾according to his father¾ wasn’t good at all; but Itachi was truly concerned if Hanako might actually be an over one-hundred-year-old soul trapped in a ten-year-old’s body.


	25. The Morgue

_Hanako wandered through_ the Hospital halls until she reached the room she was looking for. She knocked on the door and let out a sigh while she waited for an answer.

“Come in.” She heard Kazuki’s faint voice and entered the room, closing the door behind her.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she walked to the side of his bed. Kazuki only watched her every movement while he sat up on his bed.

“Better, guess I never thought this girl could give me such a beating.” Hanako chuckled at this.

“Was it better or worse than the beating  _I_ gave you?” Kazuki arched an eyebrow.

“That wasn’t a beating, that was cruel. You manipulated my mind in a Genjutsu; you didn’t even leave a scratch,” he countered as he observed himself. “But Hyori, she  _did_  give me a beating,  _physically._ ”

“Look, Kazuki.” Hanako sighed. “You got out of there alive, that’s what matters. You’ll have a chance to take the exam again.”

“I know, but I have to train harder. Get stronger.” Kazuki frowned. “After all, I’m the only one in the team who didn’t make it to the final round.”

“That Takeshi and I did doesn’t mean we’ll become Chunnin right away,” Hanako said as she observed the white ceiling. “This final round will be the hardest of all.”

“You’ll make it.” She heard him say and looked down at him. “I’m sure of it.” Hanako smiled.

“Thank you, Kazuki…” she muttered before turning her back to him and walking to the door. “I have to go.”

“I enjoyed your visit,” he said. “Maybe next time I see you, you’ll already be in the arena waiting for the third exam to begin.” Hanako stopped before the door as she placed her hand on the handle.

“Probably.”

“I hope you win and become a Chunnin.” She looked at him sideways.

“Yeah... Me too.” After saying this, she opened the door and walked out of the room. She noticed the hallways were strangely empty and decided to wander around for a bit in case something was wrong. She closed the door to Kazuki’s room before starting her tour towards the unknown —she’s rarely been at the hospital.

She paced for a couple of minutes until a metallic sign next to a door called her attention. “The morgue?” The brunette neared the door and laid her hand on the handle. “I shouldn’t...” She looked up and down the hallway in case the nurses might be around. There was no one. She focused her chakra just to make sure. No one. Curiosity got the best of her and she entered the room, quickly closing the door behind her. The room was dark but thanks to her Sharingan, she found the switch and turned on the lights. There were a bunch of corpses, covered with a thin white blanket, placed over metallic exam stretchers. The girl walked past them until one of the corpses called her attention. She pulled the blanket over to reveal Shun’s pale and passive frame.

“This is...” she muttered, taking her hand to Shun’s neck, noticing some strange seals all over it. “This can’t be...” Shun’s body started turning a grayish color, as if it were transforming into stone. Hanako’s eyes shone red as she observed the corpse, trying to get a better perspective of what was going on in his body —that’s when she noticed the fine layer of chakra that was covering it, originating from the unknown seals. There, right in front of her, Shun’s body turned into ashes, leaving a mound of dust that soon started to pour down from the pallet to the floor. Hanako backed away and stared at her at hand, which still held remains of the ash that once was Shun’s body. She dusted herself quickly, turned off the lights and rushed out of the room only to bump right into someone just outside the door. They both fell to ground, Hanako on top of the passerby.

“Hanako?” She opened her eyes to stare right into a pair of dark eyes, recognizing them almost instantly. She still had her Sharingan activated, but she blinked and her eyes snapped back into their accustomed black color.

“Itachi?” Hanako scrambled to her feet, dusting herself in case there was more ash stuck in her clothes. She helped the black haired boy up, and took notice of his companion, who seemed amused. “Hiroki-san?” The aforementioned smiled.

“What’s up?” Hiroki nodded towards her, making his green hair bounce as he did so.

“Nothing...what are you guys doing here?” Hanako asked while smiling nervously.

“We were visiting Koharu,” replied Hiroki. “But, what are you doing  _here_?” He raised an eyebrow as he pointed a finger to the room she came out from. Hanako, noticing this, closed the door of the room behind her.

“I was visiting Kazuki.” Hiroki widened his eyes.

“What happened?! Was that beating really  _that_  bad?!” he inquired worriedly.

“What? No!” Hanako shook her head. “No, no, Kazuki’s fine.” She smiled sheepishly. “Definitely not here.”

“And we go back to the same question,” Itachi sighed. “What were you doing  _here_?”

“At the morgue?” Hanako raised an eyebrow. “I was just passing by.”

“You walked out that door,” Itachi replied seriously, narrowing his eyes, looking at her with a stern expression.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hanako shrugged, faking confusion.

“You just closed it.”

“Yes, it was open and I closed it. Common courtesy,” she quickly replied, tilting her head sideways as if she had expected him not to believe her, so she made a pleading look at him. Itachi didn’t flinch.

“You bumped into me, coming out of that room,” he said stoically. “You cannot lie, Hanako, I saw you.”

“You probably just imagined it,” Hanako shrugged. “You know, they say nurses cast illusions in the hospital halls, so that mad patients who try to escape can’t find their way out. Maybe you got caught up in one of those, you should get yourself checked.” Hanako tried walking past Itachi, but at the chance, he caught her wrist. Hanako stopped and looked back at him.

“Hanako, tell me the truth.”

“About what?” she asked with a smug grin. “What I think about your excessively annoying interest in me or your strange need to meddle into someone else’s business?” Itachi was shocked.

“Okay, enough...” Hiroki interrupted them, pulling Hanako away of Itachi’s grip —which had loosened after Hanako’s last statement. Itachi pressed his lips into a thin line, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“What were you doing, Hanako, inside the morgue?” Itachi asked her more calmly; his gaze softened as he looked down. He couldn’t look at her after what she had said, although his efforts were in vain since Hanako looked away, not even considering to answer his question. Itachi was seemingly more aware of his actions and hers.

“You were visiting the Iwa ninja, weren’t you? The one you fought?” Hiroki suddenly said, making Hanako tense upon Shun’s mention. She still didn’t say anything. “Hey...” he placed a hand over shoulder. “You don’t have to feel guilty. These things happen for a reason, don’t they? But...if you ever need someone to talk to, we’re here for you, okay?” Hanako looked up at him, her eyes cold as ice. “You can count on us for anything you need.” Hanako pushed his hand away and walked down the hall without looking back at them. “So, that was it, huh?” Hiroki sighed, moving his hand through his hair. “Darn it, Kazuki-san was right, dealing with Hanako-san is tougher than dealing with you.”

Itachi had his eyes locked on the spot where Hanako had just disappeared around the corner. “There’s something she’s hiding.” He shifted his eyes to the door of the room. “Since the Forest of Death...” He placed a hand over the handle.

“Hey, you’re not seriously thinking about walking in there, right? Do you have any idea of the smell of death there must be in there?” Hiroki said as his face cringed in disgust.

“Hanako didn’t seem to mind. Besides,” Itachi opened the door and took a step inside. “I need answers, Hiroki.” The two boys walked in, Hiroki covering his nose with his hand and Itachi inspecting the room with his Sharingan. “There’s something strange in here,” Itachi observed all the corpses until his eyes landed on an empty bed with a white blanket over it. He walked to it and noticed the dust covering the pallet and the floor around it.

“What is this?” Hiroki walked to it and noticed the tape pasted at one of the edges with a name written on it. He took it off and eyed it curiously. “Shun...” His eyes drifted to the dust over the pallet. “It’s like his body turned to ashes.” He frowned. “A substitution jutsu, perhaps?”

“I don’t think so.” Itachi bit his lip. “It’s more like a self-destruction jutsu,” he suggested, looking worriedly at Hiroki —who returned his gaze.

“Only the ANBU do that,” he commented.

“And they do it to protect their village’s secrets,” Itachi added while inspecting some of that dust, rubbing it between his fingers.

“But what kind of secrets can a Genin hold?” Hiroki wondered frowning.

“Maybe it wasn’t the Genin himself, but something too important he was part of for them to resort to this kind of jutsu,” Itachi replied.

“Maybe Ren’s right and something really bad is about to happen.”

“Whatever it is, we have to figure it out, Hiroki,” Itachi said before the two Genin walked out of the room quickly, before they were found.

 

* * *

 

“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening…” Hanako kept repeating to herself in a low voice as she walked out of the hospital. She wasn’t headed in any particular direction, she just wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. “I must have imagined it!” she screamed, covering her face with her hands.

A voice came up behind her, making Hanako flinch. “Here you are!” Hanako turned in a fraction of a second to find Shisui looking at her, who wasn’t expecting to have startled her.

“Shisui?” Hanako relaxed, lowering her arms. “You scared me…”

“Sorry,” he smiled sheepishly. “You ran away after I mentioned the intensive training. It’s not that bad, I promise, I admit it sounds scary but once you get the hang of it…” Shisui’s words died down when he realized Hanako wasn’t paying attention to him. She was just staring at the ground, lost in her mind.  “Hanako….are you okay?” he asked softly.

“I wish I was…” she muttered. “But not really.” Hanako looked up at him, with tears gathering in her sockets. “I don’t want to admit this, but because it’s you I will…I’m scared, Shisui...”

“Scared of what?” Shisui’s gaze softened. He grabbed her arm softly, pulling her towards a bench across the road. They sat on it, his eyes never leaving her figure. Hanako had never opened up to him like she was after her father’s death. He had mainly been the stranger who was always crashing at her house, to whom she had just grown accustomed to. But he never expected Hanako to ever regard him as anything more than that, much less a friend she could discuss personal matters with. ‘ _That’s what death does to people_ ,’ he thought grimly.

“I have this strange sensation in my stomach,” Hanako said, “telling me that something bad is about to happen.” Finally, she looked up at him with serious eyes. Shisui felt familiar to the glare, as if the Hanako he knew was still there, behind all the fear and worry she claimed to. “I think it is somehow related to Iwagakure. The battle isn’t over, they’re waiting for the final rounds to launch their vengeance against the Village.”

Shisui frowned. “How do you know that? Are you sure about it?”

“I just…know…” she looked back at the ground. She knew she couldn’t say anything about Isao’s conspiracy, or else he would find her and bury her alive. However, she guessed it was okay to mention part of it, trying not to fall into detail. “Isao talked about it in the Forest of Death, about how much he hated the village and that he would avenge his father’s death. I think destroying that town full of Iwagakure and Kusagakure Shinobi somehow lit their flame of hatred towards Konoha.” Hanako felt a strong pull in her stomach when she reminisced about what she had done. From burning the town to ashes to killing Shun in the preliminaries. She hadn’t thought being a Shinobi would be just that, killing and then feeling terrible about it. If she had known that, she would have probably never applied.

Without being able to take it anymore, she threw her arms around Shisui’s neck and hid her face into the crook of his neck. Astonished, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Hanako was crying, and he could feel her tears wetting his shirt on his shoulder. “This is all my fault, isn’t it?” she asked between sobs. “What I’ve done…”

“It’s _not_ your fault, Hanako.” Shisui unwrapped himself from her hold and pushed her away so he could stare directly into her eyes. “We don’t know since when they might have planned this, they’re probably just using that mission as an excuse to justify their doings. That’s what they do. That’s what Shinobi do, they search everywhere for an excuse to attack; and when they finally find one, they strike.” Shisui’s eyes were a pitch black color, the pupil almost invisible. Even so, Hanako could easily read all the emotion flooding in them, as a mighty river dragging everything in its wake. “That’s why we say, ‘Don’t let the enemy provoke you, and do not provoke them.’” Hanako looked away, pulling away from him. She knew he was right, even though she was too embarrassed to admit that she was weak and stupid, and would probably fall for their tricks shortly. “Don’t shoulder everything on your own, Hanako. The weight might crush you.”

Hanako looked at him with wide eyes. “Shisui…”

“Everything’s going to be all right,” Shisui continued, looking away from her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Hanako, or anyone. I promise.” Hanako pressed her lips. She was tired of hearing that sort of promise that couldn’t be taken seriously. First her father; he died. Then Itachi, who told her he could never see her as his enemy; she killed someone. ‘ _Now Shisui, what are you signing me up for?_ ’ Shisui sighed loudly. “I guess, right now we have more important things to focus on,” he said, changing the subject. “The final rounds…” He looked at her, and Hanako felt cold again after the look he gave her. “Itachi told me you’re up against Isao.”

Hanako’s blood froze in her veins. She stared at Shisui, not believing what her ears had just heard. “What…?” Her eyes widened like plates. “He’ll want to avenge Shun…”

“Exactly,” Shisui’s eyes didn’t falter. “That’s why I want you to rest today; let your mind digest everything that has happened. And tomorrow, we’ll begin our training.” Hanako nodded, looking away from Shisui. The teenage boy sighed, shaking his head. “I’m guessing you haven’t gone home, I went to look for you this morning but Hikari told me that she hadn’t heard from you.” Hanako lowered her head, letting her soft hair flow down to hide her face from him. “Where did you go last night?”

Hanako just shrugged. “I didn’t feel like going home, so I just wandered the woods at night. Clearing my head, it feels natural, and I like it.”

Shisui pressed his hand against her back, ushering her to get up from the bench. Hanako looked at him strangely. “You need to go to sleep,” he said. “You look exhausted.” He wasn’t lying. Hanako was pretty good at hiding her emotions, but it was impossible if they showed physically. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her lips were pale and cracked. Not to mention the dirt that clung to her clothes and skin, making her stink. Hanako hadn’t thought about it, she had neglected herself so much that it made her look like a pauper. “Besides,” Shisui continued, ignoring her looks as he smiled at her. “Good news await you.”

“Good news?” she asked, but Shisui was suddenly gone. He had vanished into thin air before she got the chance to blink. Of course, he was faster than average Shinobi, so it was easy for him to disappear before people could process he was really gone.

Hanako sighed and stood up, turning around in her heels. She slowly headed in the direction of the Uchiha Compound, and then her house. She was nervous, she hadn’t been home in an entire week. When she reached the main door, she found her mom and Hikari setting up the table for dinner. Hanako hadn’t thought she had been out for so long.

When Akira turned to look at her, she smiled. “ _Okaeri_ , Hanako.”

“ _Tadaima_ …” Hanako greeted back with tears in her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed them. How much she had missed the warmth of a house with people waiting for her to come back, who cared for her. She took off her filthy sandals, and placed them beside the door.

“There’s something we need to tell you,” Hikari suddenly announced with a bright smile. Not even angry at all at her sudden disappearance. “Sit,” she ordered, but after taking in Hanako’s appearance she changed her mind. “You know what, no, stay still.” Hikari pointed at her, Hanako just lifted her hands in surrender with a sigh.

“What is it?” Hanako asked tiredly. Hikari always tried to appear mystic but failed miserably; instead of sparking Hanako’s interest, she normally annoyed her.

“Hanako,” Akira called in an authoritative voice, so like her mother. Hanako’s eyes found her, catching her joy. “I’m pregnant.” 

 

* * *

 

Night had fallen. Shisui watched the moon while resting against the bark of a tree, sitting on its roots. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried focusing on the sounds of the night until he heard close branches cracking, and opened them again. Itachi was standing in front of him, looking down at him with a more serious than usual face. “I’m so happy to see you too,” Shisui commented, his voice filled with sarcasm.

“We need to talk.” Itachi crouched in front of him.

“About what?” The older Uchiha raised an eyebrow.

“Hanako, she’s being acting strange lately.”

“I haven’t noticed anything strange in her behavior,” Shisui said as he closed his eyes. “She’s still the same ol’ brat...” He was obviously lying, but he couldn’t just spoil the trust he had earned from the brunette by telling Itachi stuff that he probably didn’t have to know.

“You’re lying,” Itachi frowned, reading through him. “You have to know.”

“And what makes you think that?” Shisui inquired raising his eyebrows, without opening his eyes.

“You’re the one who’s been spending the most time with her,” Shisui finally opened his eyes to look at him. “Aren’t you the one who said you would train her?”

“Well, if you must know...” he said as he sat up. “We have just been hanging around, she’s still far too exhausted for training. However, I hope we can begin tomorrow.” Shisui got onto his feet, and started walking away. Itachi followed him closely behind.

“What are you two hiding?” Itachi asked.

“Why do you think we’re hiding something?” Shisui replied curtly without even looking back at him.

Itachi took a deep breath. Normally, Shisui wouldn’t have the need to hide things from him, but when concerning Hanako he seemed to be difficult. Why would his best friend act that way towards him when he never had? “Hanako was at the morgue today,” Itachi said, halting. Shisui also stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at him. Itachi thought he saw curiosity glinting in his eyes, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.

“She must be feeling guilty,” Shisui said, with a shook of his head. “Visiting the dead is a way to let go of all that guilt…by showing them respect.” He turned again and continued his way.

“And did you know that Shun’s body had turned to dust?” Itachi added making Shisui stop abruptly.

“Dust?” He frowned.

“Yeah, Hiroki and I entered the room after Hanako left. We found dust where his body should have been.” Shisui pursed his lips.

“Itachi, I have to go. There’s something I have to do.” Without giving him one last glance, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“So, he didn’t want to spill anything either, huh?” Hiroki appeared from behind the tree. Itachi looked at him before letting out a sigh.

“I’m still not giving up.”

 

* * *

 

“Pregnant?” Hanako inquired, still wrapping around the idea in her mind. “But…how...when?!”

“I am…” Akira repeated, showing her youngest daughter the results of her test. “And they’re twins!” Seeing her mother so happy, made something spark inside Hanako. Hope. Not everything seemed to be lost after her father had departed, since there were two new additions to the family.

“Twins? Boys?” Hanako arched her brows.

“We don’t know exactly but it’s most probable,” Akira couldn’t stop smiling, and it was contagious.

“That’s awesome,” Hanako grinned widely. “I’m having siblings!”

“Ahem…” Hikari cleared her throat, glaring hardly at Hanako. “I’m also here you know.”

“ _More_ siblings!” Hanako quickly corrected herself. She ran to where her mother stood and jumped to her, wrapping her arms around her.

“Wait! Hanako be careful!” Akira cried. They both fell to the floor, Hanako landing on top of her mother.

“Oops,” Hanako quickly got onto her feet, helping her mother stand. Hikari rolled her eyes, approaching them.

“You have to be more careful now that Mom is carrying babies. Her body is delicate,” she nagged. Then she seemed to be smelling something in the air, when she covered her nose. “Oh gosh, Hanako, you stink!”

Hanako looked down at herself, remembering she was messy. She smiled sheepishly, looking back up at her sister. “Sorry?”

Akira laughed. “Go take a shower so we can have dinner,” she said.

 

* * *

 

“Now what?” Hiroki and Itachi were walking in the Konoha streets. People were still wide awake, shopping, eating... All the lights were on, illuminating the whole road.

“I need to speak to Hanako,” Itachi said. “Privately,” he added as he looked at his teammate sideways.

“Mmm...In private...” Hiroki smiled playfully while looking back at the Uchiha. “I get it, I get it. You want some alone time with her.”

“I mean because Hanako is a sensor. If you go, she’ll notice you and I don’t want her to think that we suspect about her.”

“I get it...” Hiroki sighed. “But you’ll tell me everything you discuss, right?”

“Fine...” Itachi sighed while Hiroki smiled victoriously.

“And why do you think Iwagakure placed this kind of jutsu in one of his Genin?” Itachi frowned.

“I don’t know, Hiroki. That’s why I need to talk to Hanako,” he replied curtly.

“Okay... You don’t need to be so rude to me.” The two boys continued their way, but none of them realized they had been observed the whole time.

“Now, now...Things are getting quite interesting in the Village Hidden in the Leaves...” A tough voice commented.

“ **The last thing that happened was when you released the Kyuubi. So, what are you planning, Obito? We still have something important to do for Madara** ,” another voice replied.

“Don’t grow impatient, Zetsu,” Obito said. “We just want to have a little bit of fun; after all, we still have some time.”

“Is that so?”

“I found Nagato and convinced him to take the lead of the Akatsuki. Our first priority is to find useful members for him. I’ll take the girl to Madara, but I also have my eye placed on someone else.” He released a low chuckle; his Sharingan gleaming bright red through the hole in his mask.


	26. Iwagakure's Plan

_The next day_ , Shisui went to Hanako’s house little before sunrise. To avoid waking up her family, he looked for the window to the brunette’s room and entered through it without making a sound. He observed the girl sleeping peacefully and doubted for a moment waking her up. However, they had a lot to do regarding Hanako’s training and the thought of it cleared all doubt from his mind.

“Hey Hanako, wake up,” he muttered next to her ear while shaking her a little. The brunette just groaned and turned her back to him. “Oh come on, sleeping beauty, don’t make me use the trick to wake you.” Hanako opened her eyes a bit and looked at him sideways.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh...yes I would,” he said with a grin, coming dangerously close to her.

“NO!” In a fraction of a second, the girl was out of bed and in the other side of the room, pressed tightly against the wall.

“Well, now you seem more awake than ever!” Shisui commented with a big grin. “Go eat some breakfast and meet me in the training grounds at seven sharp.” Hanako sighed as she looked at the clock on her nightstand. It read six thirty in the morning.

“You have no idea how much I hate you right now...” she muttered under her breath.

 

* * *

 

After training nearly all day with Shisui, exhausted least to say, Hanako had to walk her way back home. She couldn’t even take a step in less than half a minute. “Damn Shisui… He really overdid it; he shouldn’t have discovered my ability to heal.” Hanako muttered to herself. She stopped in the middle of the road, and looked down at her hand curiously. “But why do I…?” Hanako took a kunai from her pouch, raised it to her wrist, and dragged it down against her skin. “Why do I heal so fast?” She observed with interest as the cut closed itself and disappeared without leaving a mark that assured it had been there.

“Hanako-san, what are you doing?” Hanako jumped when she heard Hiroki’s voice at her back. She quickly put the knife down and turned slowly to meet him, hiding the weapon from his sight.

“Hey, Hiroki…how’s it going?” She grinned slightly.

“Fine, thank you…” Hiroki narrowed his eyes at her, his voice dubious. “What about you?” His eyes drifted to her hands ¾carefully hidden behind her back¾ and then back to her face.

“Well, fine obviously…” Hanako did everything possible to sound the most convincing, but he gave her a look of such pity that made her stomach churn.

“Are you sure?” Hiroki walked closer towards her. “You cannot deny that you were harming yourself just now, though, can you?” Hanako arched her eyebrows, faking incredulity. “I saw you cut yourself, Hanako. That’s not a good sign.” He tried to take her hand, but Hanako took a step away from him.

“What makes you think I could do such thing to myself?” Hanako glared at him, clearly annoyed. But he only ignored her, as he observed her intently, analyzing her expression for a moment. Before she had realized it, he had snatched her hand and turned it upwards, finding nothing but fair unharmed skin. “Is that convincing enough for you?” Hanako let the words roll out of her tongue in a cold voice as she pulled her hand back. “I am fine,” she said.

“This can’t be…” Hiroki muttered, more to himself than to her. Confusion was visibly marked in his face. “I swear I saw¾”

“You imagined it,” Hanako rolled her eyes. “Don’t you remember what I said in the hospital? About the nurses casting illusions on the halls so patients wouldn’t run away?” she asked. “I wasn’t joking.”

Hiroki visibly paled. “I¾”

“You should go back home before you hallucinate something you regret,” she continued, nipping her nails as a small smile curled her lips up. “Just a word of advice.”

Hiroki nodded and turned away from her, hurrying back the way he had come from. Hanako burst into laughter as she watched him rush away in despair; it amused her when people fell for her tricks. Turning in the opposite way, she continued her way home. She still had the kunai in her hand, she noticed, and put it back away.

 

 

 

Hanako’s house was filled with the smell of food as her mother cooked. “I’m back,” Hanako put her sandals beside the door and entered the main room.

“Welcome home, Hanako,” Akira smiled at her from the kitchen. Hanako returned the gesture, reaching to help her clean the counter. “How did it go with Shisui-kun?” she asked.

“Awful,” Hanako said, discarding the used utensils into the pile. “I can’t feel a single muscle in my body.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Akira said, looking at her daughter from the tip of her eyes. “Like your father’s training…” Hanako almost dropped the dishes she was picking from the cabinet, but held herself. “You are becoming strong,” Hanako’s mother smiled.

“Probably,” Hanako shrugged. ‘ _Why did you have to mention Dad?_ ’ Hanako looked down at the plates in her hands, tightening her hands around them. The air around them suddenly became tense, making it hard for them to breathe.

 

 

 

Later that evening, Hikari returned from her mission and sat with them to have dinner. They ate silently, but Hanako barely touched the food in her plate. She didn’t feel hungry at all. Finally giving up, she excused herself from the table and took her unfinished meal back to the kitchen.

There was a window over the sink, and strangely it was open. Hanako frowned and looked back at her mother sitting at the table. Did she leave it open? No, she couldn’t have. She never opened that window at all. Hanako turned back to the window and put her plate aside. She was about to close it when a strange movement of a branch outside called her attention. Hanako couldn’t feel any trace of chakra around, and she shrugged it off. But then she saw him. There was a man standing right outside her house. Without further thought, Hanako raced to the backdoor and swung the door open before rushing through it.

Hanako stopped when the cold breeze hit her; she didn’t know what to do outside or where to follow. There wasn’t a trace she could use to track down the man. She was about to go back inside, when a faint sign of chakra called her attention. It was moving in a direction away from her, and she followed it.

Hanako ran through the forest until she reached the edge of a cliff. There, she lost the trace completely, as if he had just vanished into thin air. Hanako took a deep breath as the breeze caressed her cheek, making her close her eyes. “Look who we have here…” Hanako recognized that low dark voice, and opened her eyes again with her Sharingan activated. “It’s been awhile,” he said, “since the last time we met.” Hanako narrowed her eyes. The man who that voice belonged to was still hiding among the trees, mocking her from where she couldn’t see him. “Rumor has it you killed your opponent in the preliminaries, who was also a formidable Genin from the Stone Village.” Hanako didn’t say anything, and he continued. “I see you haven’t satiated you thirst for revenge.” 

“I have honestly no idea what you’re babbling about,” Hanako frowned.

“Come on,” he scoffed. “They killed your father, mocked your clan, your village…and now they’re going to betray it and watch it burn from the inside out.” Hanako’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? How do you know that?”

“I have some valuable sources of information.”

“What else do you know?” she asked again.

“Find out for yourself,” he finally dared to appear from the shadows, always wearing his mask to cover his face, and his black robe. “Come with me, there’s something I want to show you.” He started to walk back into the forest. Hanako followed him. They walked slowly for a couple of minutes until he suddenly came to a halt. “Here should be alright,” he muttered. After that, a strange force coming from the hole in his mask sucked Hanako into it. She could feel as if she had been pulled away from the ground, floated in nothingness for a moment, before she was thrown hardly against the ground of a different place. Hanako looked around, she was still in a forest, but it wasn’t the same forest that surrounded the village. She looked in front of her and found boulders piled up, covering ¾and crushing¾ what used to be a cave.  Moss covered the area, growing on the tops of the rocks. Hanako looked up at the masked man, for a moment ¾even through his mask¾ she could swear she saw a glint of nostalgia in his eyes, but she quickly discarded it. This man, who she knew was a rogue Uchiha, ought to have the kind of past he wouldn’t ever discuss with anyone.

The masked man pushed a loose rock from the pile, revealing an entrance to the cave. Hanako looked down at it. “Come,” he ushered her to follow him, as he walked into the cavity. Hanako looked around, looking for anyone who might have followed them, but the forest was deserted. She turned back to the hole and cautiously walked into it. The passage way was so dark, even with her Sharingan it was hard for her to see. She walked slowly testing the ground before taking a full step; and she ran into someone. It had to be the masked man, she thought, as she didn’t think anyone else would have been there with them. But she hadn’t realized how wrong she was for having thought so.

“You’re back…” a voice greeted them. It had been so cold, Hanako felt a shiver run down her spine. For some reason, she found the voice familiar, but she couldn’t place it anywhere. When she looked up, she could see the figure of an old man staring at her with a curious red eye. ‘ _He is also an Uchiha_ ,’ Hanako thought with a dull ache in her stomach. Now she hoped she hadn’t accidentally wandered into some sort of Uchiha cult, where they praised some fictitious god and needed a young member to sacrifice to him. Hanako shuddered. “And I see that you didn’t come alone…”

Something stood beside Hanako, but she was too afraid to even look at it. “She’s just a brat…” It ¾or was it a he?¾ muttered into her ear. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and her jaw dropped. There stood a strange white person with a malicious grin plastered on his face. Hanako screamed and moved as far away as she could, until she bumped into the masked man again.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Hanako quickly turned on her heels, grazing her arm against one of the sharp rocks on the walls of the cave. She hissed in pain as the hot blood trailed down her arm. The masked man grabbed it and inspected the wound; Hanako bit her lip. “Stupid girl, you hurt yourself,” he said, proceeding to clean the blood with his robe. When he finished, Hanako observed as his eyes widened upon finding no wound at all.

“What is it?” the old man asked in a dark voice, making Hanako flinch. She had forgotten for a moment that he was there. 

“Nothing, a small scratch none the less,” the masked man quickly replied. He narrowed his eyes at Hanako, letting go of her.

“I see…” the man said before taking a deep breath.

“Zetsu, try not to scare her anymore.” The masked man directed at the white humanoid.

“ _Hai, hai_ , Obito-san…” he replied.

“Obito…?” Upon hearing the name, Hanako’s mind wandered back to the moment when she was visiting the Memorial Stone. She remembered seeing the name _Obito Uchiha_ carved into it; her eyes widened. He couldn’t be that person…could he? “Obito…Is that really your name?” Hanako waited for his reply but he only ignored her question as he walked towards the old man.

“So…why don’t you tell me more about yourself?” The white thing ¾whose name now Hanako supposed had to be Zetsu¾ approached her.

“What in the world are you?” She looked at him dubiously.

“I can already guess where this conversation is headed…” he grinned widely.

 

* * *

 

“Hanako…” The girl wandered aimlessly around the Uchiha Compound. Her mind was focused so deep in her thoughts, that she didn’t even notice that there was someone calling her. “Hanako…” The voice called again, but Hanako didn’t hear it. What had Obito meant when he had said that Iwagakure would watch them burn from the inside out? “HANAKO.” She almost screamed when the voice almost yelled beside her. “Are you okay?” Hanako looked over her shoulder at Itachi, he was looking at her worriedly. “I tried to get your attention but you wouldn’t listen.”

“I’m fine,” Hanako snapped at him rudely, but regretted it soon after. She cleared her throat and tried to smile at him. “I just zoned out, I’m sorry.” She looked away; he was looking at her with a strange intensity that made her feel uncomfortable.

“Can I ask you a question?” Hanako glanced back at him.

“If I say no, would that stop you?”

“Not really…”

Hanako sighed, “Then why bother asking for permission,” she rolled her eyes, looking at him expectantly.

“I’m guessing Shisui already told you about your opponent in the final rounds…” Itachi started saying.

“He did.”

“Don’t you get a weird feeling coming from him?” Itachi wondered with arched brows. He had hoped that Hanako would agree with him, and when she did she would blurt everything to him, but the reaction he got from her he really didn’t expect at all.

Hanako looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I think we both have more important things to pay attention to,” she said.

Tired, Itachi grunted. “Hanako, don’t pretend you know nothing. I know that Shun’s body turned into ashes the day you were in the morgue.” Hanako froze.

“You walked into the room, didn’t you?” she accused with a frown.

Ignoring her, he continued. “I know something happened in the Forest of Death, of which you don’t want to talk about.” Hanako gazed at the sky, inhaling deeply. She hadn’t originally thought of Itachi as a nosy one, but he was indeed curious. She had hoped he would stay on margin, just like everyone else seemed to be. That was probably what had intrigued her about him in the first place, he wasn’t like everyone else. But that didn’t tell her if he could be trusted, if she could tell him what had happened in the civilian town, or in the Forest with Isao, or even why Shun’s death had had such an effect on her. She didn’t know if she could trust Itachi. And more importantly, what would he even think of her if he knew all that? He wouldn’t look at her the same way, would he?

Hanako shook her head and turned away from him. She couldn’t give him what he wanted. She had begun walking again but Itachi grabbed her arm, right above her elbow, making her stop. “Don’t even try to escape,” he said. “Tell me the truth, Hanako. What is going on? Is Iwagakure really planning an attack?”

Hanako chuckled. “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” she asked as he looked at him sideways.

“No.”

“Fine, come with me.” Hanako grabbed Itachi’s hand and pulled it away from her arm, but she didn’t let go. Instead, she dragged him with her along the road, until she found the way to the forest. They walked for a while, Hanako dragging the Uchiha boy behind her. Itachi could have pulled away, but he didn’t. Strangely, he didn’t want to. Somehow, the warmth of her hand felt comfortable in his.

When they reached a clearing, Hanako finally let his hand drop. Itachi looked around; most trees had small indentations in them, as if someone had recently pierced knives into their barks. “This is where Shisui and I train,” Hanako explained after noticing his curious stare. “No one should listen to us here. But, before I start talking, I need you to promise me something.”

Itachi finally looked at her. “What is it?”

“You can’t tell a soul any of this, do you understand?” The urgency in her voice made Itachi gulp.

“I promise I won’t say anything.”

 

* * *

 

Shisui walked among the crowds of people in the streets, his face was deadly serious as he thought about the situation going on in the village. The Stone ninja were hosted in a small hotel not far from the center, and he decided to go take a look. They should be out training Isao, so he supposed he would find the place empty.

When he arrived at the place, he went to the reception and asked for the Iwa Shinobi’s room. The receptionist refused to give him the number. Shisui sighed and closed his eyes, opening them again with the Sharingan. When the receptionist looked back at him, she dropped everything she had in her hands and entered a trance. Suddenly, she blurted out the number Shisui was looking for. With a grin, he thanked her and hurried up the stairs.

Shisui opened the door of the room and wandered inside, closing it silently behind him. He didn’t know if there was someone there, but he couldn’t take his chances. He searched the beds, the cabinets, the windows and under loose floor boards, but he couldn’t find anything that could suggest they were planning an attack.

“Looking for something?” a voice asked behind him. Shisui straightened up, narrowing his eyes with the Sharingan still activated. “Just as I thought, you are hosting us so that you can keep an eye on us, are you not?”

Shisui turned slowly, looking up at the man behind him. He was the Jounin tutor of the Genin that qualified for the final rounds. Shisui recognized him from the preliminaries. Apparently he wasn’t out training his student.

“We wouldn’t have the need to keep an eye on you if you weren’t under suspicion of hiding things from us,” Shisui said. The man just chuckled. “Besides, it’s just a _revision_.” 

“Why would we hide something from you?” The sensei raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha. “Let me remind you that there is a peace treaty among both our nations that forbids such doings.” He paused for a moment as he stared intently at Shisui’s bright red eyes. “But of course, I tend to forget that the Uchiha aren’t even close to understand the concept of peace. Such a disgraceful clan, war addicts¾” he didn’t get to finish the idea before Shisui pinned him against the wall with a knife pressed tightly against his neck.

“I dare you to say that again…” Shisui’s tomoes around the pupil started to move around in an unremitting cycle. “Can you?” The ninja from Iwa was paralyzed by terror, seeming to finally recognize the Uchiha in front of him.

“ _Shunshin no Shisui…_ ” he muttered softly. His eyelids started to close against his consent, and the sensei fell to the ground knocked out cold. Shisui quickly searched his mind for any kind of information that might help him, but he found nothing. With a groan, Shisui wiped the recent memory of his appearance from the sensei’s mind, and left the room through the window ¾he headed towards the Uchiha District, hoping Hanako would be waiting for him in their training spot.

 

* * *

 

“That’s what I know,” Hanako sighed. She had finished telling Itachi what had happened in her mission, what she heard from Isao in the Forest of Death, and what Shun had said to her before he died. Surprisingly, he didn’t look at her with disapproval or disgust, he remained calm. It was like he was still going through everything she had said ¾in his mind.

“You’re saying, that what they want is revenge?” Hanako looked at him fixedly. He had walked closer to her, until he stood right in front of her. “And are you going to let Isao have it in the final rounds?” he asked.

“Of course not,” Hanako frowned. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a battle to the death. He is making a show out of his revenge.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Itachi’s gaze softened.

“I am,” Hanako smirked at him. “Stop worrying, Ita-kun, Shisui has been training me well.” Itachi’s eyes widened and he felt something flutter inside of him when Hanako called him ‘Ita-kun’. He knew she was only mocking him, since they had agreed to call each other by their first names.

Hanako looked at her side when she felt a new chakra approaching. The bushes moved a little and Itachi finally looked away from Hanako, pushing his thoughts aside. Shisui walked into the clearing, looking at Itachi with astonishment.

“Oh, am I interrupting something?” he asked. There was a mischievous grin playing at his lips, making Hanako roll her eyes.

“Fuck off, Shisui. Itachi and I are just friends, stop shipping us together,” she smirked. Itachi looked away, feeling a pang on his chest. Shisui noticed and smiled sadly. “Unless you want me to ship you with my sister more than what I already am.” Shisui looked back at Hanako.

“Does that mean you’re admitting you and Takeshi are actually something and have been hiding it from the rest of the world?”

Hanako jumped at the thought and glared at Shisui. “Obviously, it’s not like that.”

Shisui chuckled, shaking his head. “Fine, whatever… Anyway, I have something to tell you that you might want to know.” He looked seriously at Hanako, pointing at Itachi with his head softly. Hanako seemed to get the hint and sighed.

“It’s okay, Itachi knows already.”

Shisui arched his brows. “He does?”

“Just say it … We don’t have all day.” Hanako sighed.

Shisui cleared his throat. “Okay… I visited the hotel in which the Iwa ninja were staying. I checked all their stuff, turned their room upside down, but I couldn’t find anything that could suggest they’re planning something,” he said.

“Of course not…” Hanako commented, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “If they had a scroll with a detailed explanation of their plans, it’d be kept in Iwagakure —in hands of the Tsuchikage himself.”

“I also checked the mind of Isao’s sensei,” Shisui added. “If there was something they were planning, he’d definitely know about it.” He frowned. “But it was blank.”

“Probably all their memories are blocked with a jutsu, like Shun’s were,” Itachi suggested. “They have to protect all their pieces that stand on enemy territory.”

“Maybe…” Hanako shrugged. “I’ll guess we just have to wait and see what happens.”


	27. The Stone in the Naka Shrine

_Hanako felt her_ chakra running low as her body reached its limit; her mind was submerged in desperation —knowing she couldn’t afford to lose the fight.

“Now…who said the Uchiha, the great _elite_ , were invincible, _impossible_ to defeat? Well of course, you’re just a brat. Just the thought of you defeating me must be a joke.” Isao mocked, making the anger boil inside her as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Dammit…” Hanako muttered through gritted teeth. She balled her hands into fists and tightened them until her knuckles turned white. “No…I can’t…lose…” she hushed, getting up. Her whole body ached, every tiny muscle felt sore, but she knew she had to stand. She couldn’t lose against Isao—she _wouldn’t_. It would’ve all been in vain; Shisui’s training would have meant nothing.

Hanako observed determinedly, it was all or nothing. She focused all the chakra she had left in her hands, and launched herself at him. Her black eyes became red and everything around her was suddenly illuminated by a white blinding light. Hanako stopped dead in her tracks and closed her eyes. She felt herself falling into a void, but she relaxed knowing that there was no ground underneath she would crash into.

“I think that’s enough,” Hanako heard the echo of Shisui’s voice and smiled. “You’ve been improving a lot.”

“I keep forgetting these are just illusions,” Hanako said. She opened her eyes slowly. There was no blinding light anymore, and she was lying against the bark of a tree in the middle of a clearing —in the forest near the Uchiha Compound they used to train. Rays of sunlight managed their way through the canopy, and stroke her face in a comforting warmth. “Sometimes, they are just too real.”

Shisui chuckled. “Says the girl who fooled me in a game of ‘Hide N’ Seek’ with a basic Genjutsu.” Hanako stood up with a smile on her face, sighing.

“Time’s running out…” she said, looking at the ground. “In a week, that illusion may become real or I really defeat him.” Shisui’s smile was suddenly wiped out of his face, and he looked away. “Shisui…” Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line, she had the intention of telling him something important but suddenly decided against the idea. He looked at her intently.

“What is it?”

Hanako shook her head. “I just…do you know anything about Obito Uchiha?” she looked at him curiously. She had not meant to ask that, but the words flowed out of her mouth, as she was used to when she lied.

“Obito Uchiha?” Shisui tilted his head, seeming to put some thought into the name. “I know he died in a mission at the borders of Kusagakure, but that was a long time ago—”

“Eight years ago,” Hanako interrupted him. “Isn’t a long time.” Shisui looked at her curiously. “I went to his funeral. I may not remember, but I know that my family was desolated.”

The older Uchiha nodded grimly, “You are asking the wrong person about him, Hanako,” Shisui said, “but I know of someone else whom you can ask.” Hanako looked up at him in astonishment. Shisui smiled. “I know what’s going on inside of your mind.”

“You do?” her eyes widened.

He nodded. “You found a long lost member of your family, who is also connected to your father.” Hanako felt her stomach tighten. Did he know she had met Obito Uchiha in the flesh? Or was this one of his tricks to make her tell him the truth? No, it couldn’t be either, that would suppose he knew she was hiding something from him in the first place, and he didn’t. She had made sure of that.

Shisui noticed Hanako had paled, and grinned widely. “You have to stop pretending not to care, Hanako,” he said. “I know you visit the Memorial Stone nearly every day. It was just a matter of time before you noticed Obito’s name beside his.” A wave of relief rushed through her and Hanako released a breath. “Do you know the green apartment building close to the Academy?” he asked. Hanako nodded, having a faint image of the place in her head. “Look for the apartment room 406,” he said. Hanako frowned but when she looked back at Shisui, he was gone.

With a sigh, Hanako made her way back to the Compound, and before she knew it she had been dragged by her feet to the Naka Shrine. She walked up the stairs to the entrance, and stood there, looking into the dark sanctuary. There was a strange feeling invading her, inviting her inside, pulling her in.

“Developing an interest for your clan’s beliefs, I see…” Hanako heard a voice behind her and looked over her shoulder at the Hokage.

“ _Sandaime-sama…_ ” He smiled down at her.

“It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Hanako nodded. Indeed, the last time they had talked was when she came back from the mission in the Earth Country, and that was almost two months ago. “How has your training been going? Are you well prepared?” he asked.

Hanako nodded again. “Yes, sir.”

“That’s good to hear,” Hiruzen’s warm eyes rolled towards the shrine. Hanako couldn’t snap her eyes away from him. Looking up at the Hokage intrigued her, how he could act warm and loving towards everyone in the village was a trait she admired in him. He seemed to know it all, and thus he never meddled into their businesses or nosed into their lives too much. How did he found out about things, then? Did he know everything about everybody? Hanako wondered.

“Hokage-sama,” the old man looked at her curiously. “What do you know about Obito Uchiha?”

His brows arched up in surprise. “Obito? Your cousin?” His eyes gleamed for a moment. “Perhaps, my knowledge could be of use to you, what is it that you wish to know?”

“I want to know who he was,” Hanako said.

“That is such a big question,” Hiruzen sighed, looking down at the ground. “Obito was an orphan, his parents —your father’s older brother and his wife— died before the Third War erupted. So, Obito lived with his grandmother, whom you both share.”

“No,” Hanako shook her head, “Not anymore. Grandma died of grief, according to Mother, just a few months after Obito died.” Hiruzen’s eyes widened slightly. “They didn’t say anything, but we mourned it ourselves. We are a small family, there was no need to drag the rest of the Clan for someone they didn’t mind of.” Hanako shrugged. “I was just a little girl, I don’t even remember what she looked like.”

“I see,” the Hokage sighed. “Have you asked anyone else? About him, that is.”

“Shisui, but he only gave me an address.”

“Where?” Hiruzen was quite amused. Hanako told him what Shisui had said to her and the Hokage only grinned. “That’s Kakashi’s apartment,” he said. He had been there enough times to know. “Yeah, he is probably the only person who knew Obito better than he knew himself. But Hanako,” Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. “Why the sudden interest in him?”

Hanako looked at him. “Am I not allowed to know my own blood?” she asked, making the Hokage smirk.

“I guess you have a point.” 

 

* * *

 

“Hanako, dinner time!” She heard her mother call to her from the kitchen. She had been lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling for the past couple of hours.

Hanako yelled in response, “I’m not hungry!” She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander back into the cave.

_“I see…” the man said before taking a deep breath._

_“Zetsu, try not to scare her anymore.” The masked man directed at the white humanoid._

_“_ _Hai, hai, Obito-san…” he replied._

_“Obito…?” Upon hearing the name, Hanako’s mind wandered back to the moment when she was visiting the Memorial Stone. She remembered seeing the name_ _Obito Uchiha carved into it; her eyes widened. He couldn’t be that person…could he? “Obito…Is that really your name?” Hanako waited for his reply but he only ignored her question as he walked towards the old man._

_“So…why don’t you tell me more about yourself?”  The white thing —whose name now Hanako supposed had to be Zetsu— approached her._

_“What in the world are you?” She looked at him dubiously._

_“I can guess where this conversation is headed…” he grinned widely._

_“This conversation is headed nowhere,” Hanako snapped. “I ask you a question, and you answer it.”_

_“Who would have known the girl had such a temper,” Zetsu shook his head in disapproval. “How old are you, though?”_

_“Zetsu, I think I told you to leave her alone,” said Obito in a tired voice._

_“You told me not to scare her,” he grinned._

_“Ten,” Hanako said in a low voice, calling their attention. She hated repeating stuff, so she maintained silent as they continued to stare at her._

_Zetsu didn’t say anything else as Obito approached her. “There’s someone who’s eager to meet you,” he said. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the old man. Hanako refused at first, but when the man’s eye landed on her she froze—letting Obito bring her to him._

_“Quite the Uchiha brat…” The man chuckled. “I can sense your distrust from here.” Hanako narrowed her eyes at him, downing her need to make a smart remark._

_“_ _Can you blame me?” Obito tightened his hold on her arm, digging his nails into her skin. Hanako hissed in pain._

_“What’s your name?” asked the man._

_“Hanako…” she said, “Hanako Uchiha,” she almost flinched at the hoarseness of her voice, but she stayed put._

_“Hanako, huh?” The man smirked. “And how are your abilities?”_

_Hanako frowned. “That is none of your business.” Hanako’s threat lingered in the air as her eyes turned to a bright red color._

_The man only laughed, “Not too bad for a ten-year-old kid, you already have the three tomoes around your pupil,” he sneered. “And I can feel an even darker aura around you. Something else hiding behind those eyes of yours. Is there anything you grieve for, Hanako?”_

_“Who the hell are you?!” she snapped, ignoring him entirely. Under other circumstances he would have punished such improper behavior towards him, but at the moment he only grinned wider. “Why did you bring me here? And why is an old man like you hiding underground? Shouldn’t you be in an almshouse? Or whatever place they take care of lonely old people…” she breathed. “Because I suppose you don’t have a family, do you?”_

_The man’s eye darkened. “I do, actually. She just doesn’t know she is my family, yet.”_

_Hanako grinned. “Oh? Why is that? Long lost daughter, or granddaughter, perhaps?”_

_The man smirked again. “Enough about it. As to who I am, you could say I’m a living legend, you must have heard of me before. I am one of Konoha’s founders, the village you currently live in.” Hanako narrowed her eyes. “My name is Madara Uchiha.” Obito finally let go of her, but Hanako couldn’t move. Her body was paralyzed with shock as she stared at the man in front of her._

_She shook her head, “It doesn’t ring a bell,” she lied. The name did sound familiar, but she didn’t know from where. One thing she was sure of: she had never heard the name mentioned to her. “If you were one of the founders, though, shouldn’t you have died a long time ago?”_

_Madara chuckled. “I cannot talk about my story if you don’t know who I am or how the village came to be.” His eye glistened. “Do you?”_

_“I’ve been taught in the Academy,” she muttered. “But Madara Uchiha was never mentioned as one of the founders. You might as well be lying to me.”_

_Madara’s eye darkened again, as he glared at her. “Is that so…” there was a tinge of annoyance in his voice, which didn’t go unnoticed by Hanako. She smirked._

_“What’s the matter, Madara-jii?” she raised an eyebrow. “Should I be worried about it?”_

_“You might as well be,” his eye glowed menacingly. “Do you want to know who I really am, Hanako?” She looked at him with slight interest. “I’ll tell you under one condition.”_

_“Which is?” she narrowed her eyes._

_“Go to the Uchiha Shrine,” he said. “Under the seventh tatami there is a secret room that only the Uchiha know about. There’s a stone with a text carved on it, which has been passed through generations. I want you to use your Sharingan to read it.”_

_“And tell you what it says?” she asked cynically._

_“I already know what it says,” Madara smiled darkly. “I want_ _you to know what it says.”_

When Hanako opened her eyes again, she noticed that she had fallen asleep. The house was dark and silent, Akira and Hikari had long gone to bed. Hanako stood from her bed and walked towards the window. She still had her training clothes on, she hadn’t changed out of them after meeting Shisui, but she didn’t mind.

Out the window, Hanako looked up at the moon, high in the sky. It was almost midnight, she noted. Hanako jumped through the open window, and landed swiftly on the ground. She shivered at the feeling of the cold grass beneath her feet, she was still barefoot. For a moment she ignored it, and just walked towards the library inside the compound. Obviously, it was closed, and there were two guards —members of the Police Force— at its entrance, sitting on wooden chairs and fast asleep. Hanako smirked and rounded the building, heading for the back. There was a window, left open, through which Hanako climbed into, using one of the shelves on the inside as support so she wouldn’t fall down.

Books filled the shelves to the top, and the room itself was full of shelves. Hanako walked among rows of them, until she reached a door. It had a metal sign, RESTRICTED AREA written clearly on it. Hanako knew that whatever she was looking for wouldn’t be open to the public, so it would be confided in here. Hanako run her fingers through her hair until she found a hairpin and smiled. She used it to click the lock on the door open, and walked inside the room silently, closing the door behind her.

The room was dark, but with the help of her Sharingan, Hanako found her way. Near the end of the room, Hanako found the oldest books. One of them called her attention as if it were magnet pulling in metal. It was the peace treaty signed by the Uchiha and the Senju Clan, the one that incited the formation of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Madara had said he was one of the founders. When Hanako looked at the treaty and saw the signatures at the end of the page, her eyes widened. Madara wasn’t lying. One of the signatures clearly belonged to the leader of the Senju, Hashirama; and the other one, to the leader of the Uchiha, Madara.

Hanako ran her fingers over Madara’s name, written in so fine calligraphy. He had written the _kana_ in such a swift and passive way, it was so beautiful. Hanako smiled at the document in her hands when suddenly a dreadful feeling downed on her. She closed her eyes as she felt the world turn around her, she felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground, but she grabbed one of the shelves close to her for support. For a moment, her mind was filled with voices.

 _“I’m glad you finally agreed to this, Madara.”_ Hanako looked up and saw a man looking brightly in her direction, but she noted that he wasn’t looking at her. Following his gaze, Hanako saw that there was a man standing beside her, with an arm wrapped protectively around her waist. This man had long black hair, disheveled to the point where it appeared to form spines around his head and torso. He had a tight jaw and a straight nose, which only contributed to strengthen his features into a deadly looking man. He wasn’t looking at her, but Hanako could see in his profile that there was something bothering in his mind.

Hanako looked back at the man in front of them at the same time Madara spoke, “ _Maybe I didn’t want those fantasies we had as kids to be wasted.”_ His voice was so dark and husky, but Hanako couldn’t fail to notice a certain warmth in it. A tone he only ever used when he spoke to her, or the man in front of them. Hanako felt her stomach churn, _a tone he only ever used when he spoke to her_. Why had she thought of it that way? It wasn’t like she had noticed a difference in his voice when he spoke to Obito, and how it suddenly warmed when he directed at her. She was far too concerned in her safety that she didn’t pay attention to such lousy details.

The man in front of them grinned gleefully. His tanned skin only seemed to give him a friendlier posture, so kind that he couldn’t even hurt a fly. Hanako recognized him from History books, Hashirama Senju. The founder of Konoha, the creator of the Mokuton, and the God of Shinobi. This was not the way she had imagined him to be, pictures always tried to show him as an invincible man, the kind you really didn’t want to mess with. But the man Hanako saw in front of her was not like that at all. There was some vulnerability to him when she looked at them, a deep regret she couldn’t place her finger on.

 _“You don’t have to be like that,”_ Hashirama’s voice was soft like silk. “ _It was our dream, and we finally made it happen. Aren’t you happy about it?”_

 _“I guess I am…in a way.”_ Hanako felt observed, and she looked up to find Madara’s dark eyes staring right into hers. Her jaw dropped, she could see through him as if he were an open book. There was love, sadness, pain, loneliness, happiness… all those mixed emotions filled his irises like filling a cup with hot water. But there was something missing, like the cup was missing the tea. Hanako could see a large emptiness in him, and that made her heart hurt.

She could see herself reflected in his eyes; black hair fell on top of her shoulders. She was dressed in a fine silk kimono. Madara’s hold tightened around her waist, pulling her closer to him. There was something missing, Hanako thought, that didn’t allow him to be truly happy.

Hanako let go of the document and it fell on the ground in a dry thud. The sound of it hitting the floor brought Hanako back to reality and she took a deep breath. She brushed her fingers over her closed eyes, pulling back when she felt moist in her fingers. She was crying.

Hanako wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and kneeled down to pick the fallen document. After putting it back in its place, she leaned against the shelf, pushing it backwards slightly. The sudden motion caused a loose parchment to fall on top of her head before it hit the floor.

“Ow…” Hanako frowned, reaching a hand to rub the spot where the parchment hit her, “What the—?” The words died in her throat when she caught sight of the scroll. She reached to take it, and opened it to read it. It said to be a transcription of the Stone in the Naka Shrine, the one Madara had asked her to read.

It all circled around a certain special Doujutsu, the evolution after the regular Sharingan. The _Mangekyou Sharingan._ Hanako rolled the scroll shut when she heard movement outside the library.

“ _Oi_! Wake up!” snapped one of the guards at the entrance. “We fell asleep again, come on we have to keep guard.” Hanako sighed in relief, for a moment she had thought they had noticed her.

Hanako put the scroll in her pouch and quickly left the library, heading for the Naka Shrine.

 

 

The moon in the sky had moved to the west. “Must be around three in the morning…” Hanako muttered as she looked up at it under the arc of the Shrine. She sighed, turned on her heels, and entered the sanctuary, feeling an odd sentiment of peace as she walked. She counted the seventh mat on the floor, and approached to move it way with her foot. There was a stone door underneath it, with the picture of a Sharingan eye on top of it.

When she first noticed the chakra seal on it, she supposed she needed a specific series of hand seals to open it and she panicked. But once her eyes merged into a bright red color and she placed her hand on the stone, the door opened as if it had been waiting for her to come. Hanako looked around in bewilderment, expecting the loud sound the stone suddenly made as it moved had drawn someone to her location, but it didn’t. She was all alone in the sanctuary.

Slowly, Hanako made her way down the stone stairs, and the door closed behind her. Hanako stopped when she was left in darkness, cursing at herself for not having brought at least a candle with her, but her curses were shushed into silence when torches lit up in the walls beside her and down the stairs, illuminating the path. Hanako gulped.

She continued her descent, until she found herself in a large round room. This was the real Naka Shrine. Torches lit up the walls around her, giving Hanako a sense of dread —as if she felt some familiarity in the place. She had read in one of her father’s scrolls that the Shrine was built to honor Mako Uchiha, one of the first Uchiha, and he was also the one who had given the Stone to the Clan. But that was all it said, it didn’t give any details of who Mako was, or why he had given the Stone to them. 

Hanako’s eyes fell on said Stone and her stomach churned. It didn’t look like a stone at all, it was more like a tablet, with —certainly— a text on it. The girl took short continuous steps, until she stood in front it, so close she could graze her fingers on the carvings; but she refrained from doing so. What she could read, was written in a foreign language —an ancient and dead one— but she read through it like one could read from their mother language. It said basically the same it said in the transcript, but not in an inciting way the parchment did. The scroll spoke of the way you could gain power, but the Stone was closer to telling what _happened_ if one gained such power. It spoke of light and darkness, of power and sacrifice, and how the union of those opposites would lead one to find the true happiness. Whatever the message was that the writer intended, it was clearly not interpretable in just one way. Ones could interpret they were given a gift and the stone had the instructions on how to get it, but others could tell the stone was a warning of what their eyes could bring upon them.

“The text on the Stone is written in a language only the Uchiha know, that’s why we know that it was written for us.” Hanako looked over shoulder at Obito, he was looking straight at her through the hole in his mask. “It’s like we have the key in our head to understand the words, but only through our Sharingan. The more developed our eyes are, the more we can read.” His eyes moved down to the stone. “I have the Mangekyou,” he said. “But even so, I can only read extracts of the text, not even a full sentence. It took almost a decade for the elders to translate the first sentences, but what they found barely scratches the surface of what the Stone really says.”

“Then why can I read this?” she asked. “You say we can understand this to certain points thanks to our Kekkei Genkai, is it like we have a gene that helps us remember how to read?” Obito looked up at her intently. “Does anyone know what it says?” Hanako asked. “The complete text I mean…”

“Madara knows,” Obito says. “He read it.”

“To what extent can his eyes read?” Hanako asked again. “You just said that one could only read to where the development of his eyes let them, but this doesn’t say what the end of that development is, the words imply there’s more to it.”

Obito’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. “To what extent can _you_ read, Hanako?” he inquired. “The way you speak to me makes me think that you have read the whole thing, and you’re afraid someone else has. What does it say?”

Hanako narrowed her eyes. “I can’t read it,” again, she lied. “I know what it says because I stole a transcript from the library,” she showed him the parchment she had retrieved from the restricted area in the Uchiha Library —making her falsehoods more credible. “I just wanted to know if you knew something that wasn’t in here.”

Hanako couldn’t see under his mask, but she knew he was smirking. “Madara said you had an affinity for manipulating other people’s minds. I can see why.” Hanako put the scroll back in her pouch.

“Take me to him,” the words came out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. “I want to see Madara.” Obito’s eye shone in her direction, and she was sucked again into another place.

 

 

Obito sent Hanako back to the cave he had taken her the night before. The place was dark, there were no torches to light up the way for her, but still Hanako felt like she already knew the place as she walked confidently down the path. Zetsu appeared in her way, grinning as if he had been expecting her.

“So, who brought the girl back?” he asked. Hanako’s eyes shone brightly as she smirked back at him.

“The _girl_ has a name, you know…Zetsu.” She looked up and down at him, scanning his figure. He was entirely white, and his short hair had taken a greenish color, like moss. His yellow eyes stared right through her, gleaming with intense curiosity.

“You remember my name…” he muttered, his grin widening. “Hanako-neechan, it’s only fair I remember yours too.” Hanako looked ahead as she walked past him. “Are you joining the cause?”

“No, I just came looking for answers,” she narrowed her eyes. “And I know Madara has them.”

“Alright,” Zetsu had lowered his voice. Hanako looked at him from over her shoulder but he had disappeared.

“Did you do what I asked you to?” Madara’s voice made shivers run down Hanako’s spine. She turned slowly to find him sitting in the same ‘throne’ he had been sitting in the day before. He was looking at her with his head leaning on his hand, and a smirk plastered on his wrinkled face. He looked nothing like he had in the past, like his younger self.

“If I hadn’t, would I be here?” Madara chuckled and straightened up.

Obito didn’t follow Hanako to meet the old man, in fact he hadn’t come with her to the cave. He only sent her there. Knowing she was alone with him gave her certain confidence, but at the same time it terrified her. “Then, is there something bothering you, _Hanako_?”

Hanako frowned at the way he had said her name, as if he were making fun of her. “If you’re Madara…” she started saying. “How come you’re still alive?”

“I have my own ways to cheat death,” he shrugged as if it were nothing. “Forbidden jutsus and some other tricks I have under my sleeve. People just underestimated me and assumed I had died in my battle with Hashirama. I simply decided to let them believe it.”

“Why?”

“It’s what benefitted me,” Madara smiled, his voice softening. “So that they wouldn’t look for me anymore.”

“What do you want?” Hanako pressed her lips. “Why did you make Obito bring me here? Why did you want me to read _that_ Stone?”

Madara narrowed his eye. “Do you remember me, Hanako?” he suddenly asked, leaning now on his knees. “Have I ever crossed your mind, at least once, before today?”

Hanako looked at the ground as her breath hitch. She remembered the images flooding her mind in the library. Madara in his young-self holding her protectively with an arm around her waist. How his eyes reflected his mixed emotions.

Madara looked at her intently, reading her face, and smiled. “I have.”

When Hanako looked back at him, she felt as if someone had landed a kick in her stomach. She could see all over again those emotions in his Sharingan eye, as if he had lifted a curtain. Hanako took a deep breath. “There was a woman,” she said. “And you lost her, didn’t you?”

Madara breathed slowly, closing his yes. “Yes. I did something stupid and I lost her, but I have faith that I can have her back.” He opened his eye again and looked at her. “There is only one way I can do it.”

“How…? Isn’t she dead?” Hanako looked at him in confusion. Madara only smiled.

“No, she isn’t. She’s here. I have waited for her, all this time, but now she doesn’t remember me.” Hanako looked at him with pity in her eyes. The old man was probably senile. “Now, I am weak and old, and she is young and beautiful as always.” Definitely senile. “I waited for her, but now I need her to wait for me.”

“Gramps,” Hanako sighed. “Seeing ghosts is a premonition of death, it means you’re walking in a limbo.”

Madara chuckled. “I know, I’m not seeing ghosts.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing in here. You’re an Uchiha, you could have stayed anywhere and people wouldn’t have bothered you.”

“People couldn’t know I was still alive, they would have interfered with my plans.”

Hanako narrowed her eyes. “What plans?”

“I want to change this world,” Madara said. “I want to bring the so desired peace. I want to create a world in which only love, joy, justice and tranquility triumph. A world in which only winners exist; where there’s only light and no wars nor hatred nor darkness. I want to create a world in which no ninjas exist, nor chakra, so that no one will be superior to anyone.”

Senile madness, she thought. “That just sounds too good to be true.”

Madara grinned. “You don’t understand that now, but you will in time. Memories will come back to you slowly through the years. And when you remember, you will look for me, again.”

“Will you be here when that happens?” Hanako raised an eyebrow. “You look like you could kick the bucket anytime now.”

“Drop the brazenness, young Uchiha,” Madara said in a firm tone. Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Have you come here to mock me, or is there something worth listening to coming from your lips?”

As soon as the warmth in his voice had come, it dissipated from him like vapor. He glared coldly at her, and his words felt like knives. “I have a request to make from you,” Hanako said.

Madara’s glare didn’t falter. “What do you want?”

“I want you to teach me,” Hanako looked up at him with full seriousness in her face. The time for games was over. “Help me become stronger.”

“You want me to train you?” He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yes.”

“You’re the first one to ever ask me such a thing, why do you want me to train you?” he wondered.

“Because…” Hanako looked away from him. “I am weak,” she said. “The first time I came here, I was terrified. Your sole chakra signature made my body tremble. I felt vulnerable in your presence, and I don’t like to feel that way, in fact I hate it.” There was a lump forming in her throat, making her gulp. “I saw my father being killed right in front of me, and I hate that I wasn’t able to do anything.” Hanako closed her eyes when she felt a sudden rage burst through her.

“I won’t train you just for the ambition of gaining power,” Madara replied curtly. “State your purpose, Hanako.”

Hanako looked up at him, and saw sparking interest in his eyes. “I just want to be able to protect something in my life.”

Madara took a deep breath. He remembered the last time someone had asked him for help, “ _I can’t stand being the only one staying here doing nothing. Help me be useful Madara, I want to be able to protect others.”_ The words struck him more than they should have, but he found himself accepting before he could refuse. _“Amane…I am so sorry…”_

“Very well,” he sighed. “But you have to do something for me in exchange.” Hanako tightened her hands into fists. “I’ll help you with your purpose, only if you help me with mine. Will you do that?”

Hanako took a deep breath as her eyes focused on his. “I will.”

 

* * *

 

Shisui hurried that morning to the spot he trained in with Hanako. He had overslept last night, and had almost forgotten he was supposed to train with her. He had expected Hanako to be angry with him when he arrived, but he found himself alone when he reached the clearing. Hanako was nowhere to be seen.

That was strange, he thought. Hanako was normally eager to train and got there early. Why wasn’t she there today? Had she overslept as well?

Shisui hurried again, this time heading in the direction of Hanako’s house. There, he knocked on the door. Hikari opened it, surprised to see him. “Shisui?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”

He was panting, trying hard to catch his breath. “Is Hanako here?”

“I haven’t heard her come out of her room, she’s probably still asleep. Why—?” Shisui walked inside, past her, numbly taking off his sandals. He rushed up the stairs and threw the door of Hanako’s room open. Her bed was done, but creased —as if someone had lied on top of it. Beyond that, the room was empty. Shisui growled inside his mind and left the room, descending the stairs just as fast as he had gone up. “Shisui!” Hikari called at him as he went to the entrance door to put on his sandals. “What’s going on?”

“Hanako went missing,” he said in a hushed voice. “She’s not in the clearing we meet to train, and she’s not up in her room sleeping.” He looked at Hikari with a worried face. “I don’t know where she is.”

Hikari sighed, rolling her eyes. Hanako was doing it again. “That girl…” Hikari walked back to the kitchen, Shisui looked at her with confusion. “Let her be,” she said. “She does this all the time. Hanako only thinks about herself, she’ll come back…eventually.”

“But—”

“Let her,” Hikari looked at him with stern eyes.  “If you want to look for her, go. I won’t stop you.” She sighed. “But you won’t find her.”

Shisui pressed his lips into a thin line. He wanted to look for her, but the way Hikari glared at him made him stop. “You know her better than I do,” he said. “When will she be back?”

Hikari shrugged. “Probably the day of the final rounds.”

 

* * *

 

Isao found himself entertained in a game of cards. He had stayed in the hotel room Konoha had provided for them during the Chuunin Exam. His sensei had left almost half an hour ago to meet other Shinobi at the border, to pick up some information the Tsuchikage had sent them. There was only one day left before the final rounds of the exam, and they needed that information so they could carry their attack on the Leaf Village. Tomoya had been taken back to Iwagakure right after the preliminaries, so he was rather alone in the room, with only some poker cards to give him company.

Minutes later, the main door opened and closed. “Isao,” his teacher called to him. Isao looked at him from over his shoulder, he didn’t stand up from his chair as the man approached him with a serious face.

“Do you have what we need?” Isao asked.

“Yes,” his sensei nodded. “The Tsuchikage will come tomorrow to watch your fight. Right now he’s on his way here.” He placed a scroll over the table, in front of Isao.

“What’s that?” asked the Genin, his eyes glued to the object.

“Information about Konoha, the Hokage and the elders,” said his teacher. There was a malicious grin in his face as he spoke. “And something that might also motivate you for tomorrow’s fight.” Isao raised both his brows, looking up at his teacher. “I also came to find something interesting about certain Uchiha.”

Isao returned to the cards in his hand. “The only thing I need to know about her is her name, her chakra nature and her abilities regarding her Sharingan,” he said in a firm tone.

“Are you sure about that?” His sensei pushed. “We found something that might be of interest to you.” Isao rolled his eyes as his cards were sprawled in the table in front of him.

“What is it?” He gazed up at his teacher with inquiring eyes.

“According to what Shun left us after his death, Hanako was the one who started the fire that burned down that town and killed your father.”

Isao stared at him for a moment, then his lips curled back and he hunched, erupting into laughter. His sensei observed him silently with a straight face. After a moment, Isao realized he was laughing alone and forced himself to stop. “That’s not true,” he draw a breath. “She’s just a brat. A Jounin started that fire, I’m sure of it.”

“Not according to what Shun said—”

“Sometimes the information obtained is false.” Isao raised his voice at his teacher. He stood up, carelessly pushing his chair back and dropping it. “I’m not going to discuss what she did or didn’t. Tomorrow, I will fight her and I’ll make her regret her choice of becoming a shinobi.” Isao walked to the door in long strides and went out, slamming it shut behind him.

 

* * *

 

That morning Itachi had gone to the Hokage and knocked on his office’s door. When he heard the permission being given to him, he walked inside and stopped when he stood right in front of his desk. “What happened, Itachi?” asked the Third, smoking from his pipe, as he looked up at him. Itachi had a serious look in his face.

He had been running through the words in his mind over and over again, but when the time came and he was standing right in front of the Hokage he couldn’t manage himself to speak. “We need to talk,” he blurted. The Hokage nodded at him, urging him to continue. Itachi took a deep breath, “It’s about Hanako and Iwagakure. I know everything about her mission.”

The Hokage pulled the pipe away from his mouth, exhaling smoke as surprise filled him. “I see…”

“Strange things have been occurring in these exams, and I think we’ve all noticed,” Itachi continued. “Besides, Hanako asked me no to tell anyone this, but I think you should know, Hokage-sama…”

“What is it?”

“What really happened in the Forest of Death, and in the preliminaries…” Itachi was serious, which only made the atmosphere around them tenser.

“I think I have an idea of what’s going on, and I know what you’re thinking Itachi, but it’s impossible to change the encounters the day before the last round begins,” stated the Hokage.

“But—” The Hokage shut Itachi up with an upturn of his hand.

“I said it’s impossible.” Hiruzen put down his hand. “The matches are selected randomly, not set up.” Itachi pressed his lips tightly against one another.

“Can’t there be an exception?” He looked at the Hokage with hope filled eyes, but the elder only shook his head.

“No, I’m sorry Itachi.” The boy sighed in resignation, before turning away from him.

“I’m sorry to have bothered you, Hokage-sama.”

“Itachi,” the Hokage called. Itachi stopped right in front of the door, and looked at the elder from over his shoulder. “Believe in Hanako. I’m sure she will do just fine, after all, she never ceases to amaze us.” Itachi smiled lightly.

“ _Hai_ …”

After Itachi left, Hiruzen lay back down in his chair and let out a long sigh. “These kids…” he muttered to himself. “One day they’ll take me to the grave.” He stood and walked out of his office to take a walk.

A silhouette then emerged from the office’s floor and neared the desk, looking for some documents.

“I can’t believe he didn’t notice us.” Zetsu chuckled.

“Shut _up_.” A darker figure emerged beside him. “We were just lucky,” he replied as he also started to search among all the paperwork. “Oh, here it is.” He chuckled when he eyed the paper. “Now…now…Hokage-sama,” mocked the black figure. “Maybe you won’t change the matches,” he chuckled. “But I cannot say the same about myself.”


	28. The Final Rounds

_“You called for_ me, Fugaku-sama?” Shisui asked as he looked at the Uchiha leader with questioning eyes. Fugaku looked at him and sighed. He had summoned Shisui to his office in the Police Force building, only hours before the final exam officially started.

“I’m sorry to bother you at a time like this,” he started saying. “But this is a matter of urgent importance.” Shisui looked at the leader with a frown. “Tekka notified me that a few days ago he found the seventh tatami of the shrine misplaced.” Shisui paled for a moment. “I had a hunch and sent him to the Uchiha Library…” he went silent for a moment as he watched Shisui. The teen feared what Fugaku was about to say. “The transcript of the stone has gone missing.”

Shisui’s mouth dried.

“I know this has nothing to do with you, but…”

“You want to know if it was Hanako,” Shisui muttered. Fugaku looked at him and nodded.

“She watched her father die, there is a high possibility Hanako has…”

“The Mangekyou…” Shisui finished for him as he leaned against the back of his chair.

“Yes,” Fugaku breathed deeply. “Shisui, you and I are the only ones who know what this means.”

“Well, it certainly means the rest of the clan cannot know.” Shisui glowered at the leader.

“We don’t know anything for sure,” Fugaku continued. “But let’s not take our chances.”

“Hanako went missing a week ago,” Shisui said.

“I know,” Fugaku looked at the window. Shisui looked at him strangely.

“How—?”

“Itachi has been very concerned, he’s not eating or resting properly. After you, he was the first to notice she was gone.” He smiled slightly. “She really changed him, Hanako… Itachi has become more concerned in the clan this last month.”

“He really wants to know how Hanako relates to Amane,” Shisui said. “And besides that, the current situation with the shinobi from Iwagakure doesn’t make it any easier.” Fugaku looked at him. “Isao wants to kill Hanako, and Itachi’s worried about that match.”

“I’m certain Hanako will win, she’s one of the most promising Uchiha I’ve ever seen.”

 

* * *

 

That morning, everyone was gathered in the Arena, waiting for the final rounds to begin. All the Genin were assembled in the field, although one of them was missing. Shisui appeared next to Itachi.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes. Where’s Hanako?” Itachi looked sideways at him.

“I don’t know, she’s been missing for the entire week. I expected you to know something.” Shisui sighed. “I should have searched for her.”

“I don’t think that would be necessary.” Both Uchihas heard a feminine voice and turned towards it.

“Hanako...where the hell were you?!” Shisui raised an eyebrow at the brunette, making her chuckle.

“I just wanted to take a walk before coming.” She shrugged.

“You know very well what I mean,” Shisui replied in an annoyed tone. “You missed each and every one of our trainings the last week. Where were you?!”

“I just trained on my own. Don’t worry about me, Shisui,” she replied calmly with a roll of her eyes, but this only managed to anger him even more.

“You know what? I’d like to see your fight, especially since you decided that you could do just fine on your own!” he snapped and teleported to the bleachers, were everyone was watching.

“I think he’s angry...” Itachi turned to look at her.

“You don’t say…” he sighed tiredly.

“It was just one week.” Hanako looked at him a frown.

“Where were you that week?” Itachi asked.

“Training.”

“With whom?” Itachi raised an eyebrow.

“Alone?” Hanako replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Itachi sighed again and shook his head. “I’m sorry, okay? I’ll train with him next time if that’s what got him so upset.”

“That’s not the problem, Hanako…” muttered the Uchiha. “We knew nothing about you, and we were worried. You cannot just leave like that—”

“Alright, it’s time to begin with the final round of the Chuunin Exam,” the proctor called loudly, making everyone in the arena fall silent.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Itachi finished making Hanako nod. She turned to look towards her opponent, who was staring at the proctor with confidence radiating from his pores. Then her eyes drifted to the bleachers, looking for Shisui. She met his eyes, but he immediately looked away.

Hanako pushed every thought away from her mind when she heard the proctor speak once again. “My name is Hayate Gekko. I’ll be your proctor for the third and final exam.”

 

 

The arena was submerged in the screaming and shouting of all the spectators. Each one made their own bets on who would win their fights. From the bleachers, the Genin were cheering their friends who were on the battlefield. Ren and Kaichi shouted for their teammate, Hyori. Kazuki supported Takeshi and Hanako, who were both his friends and comrades. Koharu yelled for Itachi and Hiroki. Meanwhile, the Tsuchikage was sitting next to the Third Hokage in a private section balcony, from where they waited patiently for the next round to begin so they could witness the development of the Genin from their villages.

“I believe it’s time to begin,” Hiruzen said while standing up.

“Yes, my back won’t stand too long this position. It’d better start soon and end soon.” The Tsuchikage commented while getting comfortable in his chair.

“Aren’t you a stubborn Kage, isn’t it time for you to choose a successor?” He laughed.

“I’m not leaving such an important place in hands of ignorant and impulsive brats until the day I die.”

“I see...” The Hokage sighed. “I didn’t expect any less from you, Oonoki,” he said, making the Tsuchikage chuckle. 

“Anyway, start with the exam now, Hiruzen. My back is starting to ache.”

The Third Hokage neared the railing of the balcony and started to speak in a loud voice, directing to both spectators and participants. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for your presence in this final round of the Chuunin Exam here in Konoha.” At this point people had resumed their shouting as excitement filled the place. “Right now, we’re about to begin with the encounters that are to take place in this final round. Please, find a comfortable sit and enjoy the matches.”

After the Hokage finished talking, the proctor turned to participants. “Well, as you already know, the rules for this final match are the same as in the preliminaries. There are no rules. The fight will only end when one of you dies, admits defeat or isn’t able to continue. I can also decide when to stop a fight, but I will only do so in special cases, like fights that may harm a third party, in which case you’d both be disqualified.” Hanako felt slightly uncomfortable when his eyes lingered over her while he said this. Itachi also noticed this and nudged her softly making her look at him. He smiled slightly at her; he took her hand in his and gave her a soft squeeze before letting go and turning back to the proctor. Hanako felt her cheeks flush for a brief moment but quickly pushed it away. She felt another set of eyes on her and turned her face to find Takeshi glaring at her. Beside him was Hyori who only looked at her before dedicating a playful grin and turning away. “The first match is Hiroki Diashi against Takeshi Komatsu. The rest of you, please direct yourselves towards the waiting section upstairs, and wait upon being called for your match.” All of the participants complied with his orders.

Hanako walked towards Takeshi and Hiroki to wish them luck before following the rest towards where they had to go. The two Genin then walked to the center of the arena to wait for the match to begin.

“Well, any time...” Takeshi said as he breathed deeply.

“We’re both ready.” Hiroki added while stretching his muscles.

“I’m not losing today.” Takeshi suddenly commented looking determinedly at his opponent.

“We’ll see what happens.” Hiroki replied with a playful smirk.

“Alright.” Hayate spoke, making the two Genin get into a fighting stance. “Begin!”

Both ninja pulled out their kunai and attacked each other. Upon clashing, they quickly backed away. Takeshi threw some shuriken towards the green haired boy. Hiroki made some seals with his hands when he saw the weapons heading in his direction.

“ _Doton: Doryuuheki._ ” An earth wall emerged from the ground, protecting him from the shuriken.

“Darn it...” Takeshi muttered with gritted teeth while planning how to land a hit on his opponent.

 _‘The next thing that comes is...’_ Hanako thought while she observed with keen eyes the match. Hiroki had sunk into the land.

“ _Doton: Dochuu Eigyo._ ” Hiroki muttered while he moved through the earth. Takeshi realized that his battle was going awfully alike to Kaichi’s battle against him, and he jumped at the second in which, under him, Hiroki’s hands appeared and tried to grasp him from his ankles.

“The battle’s quite interesting, huh?” Hanako heard a voice beside her and turned her head to find Isao looking intently at her.

“Hm...It appears to be so,” she replied curtly while turning back her attention to the arena. They were currently observing the match from the waiting area while resting their arms on the railing.

“Attention please, all the participants.” A Chuunin suddenly appeared. “I’m afraid to announce that there has been a change of plans.” While saying this, the ninja pulled out a paper with the new battles. Hanako widened her eyes when she saw them. Her opponent wasn’t Isao anymore. She looked at the Senju girl, who looked back at her the same way. Now they had to fight each other. Hanako looked away from her and focused her eyes on Itachi but was surprised to find him completely calm. However, Isao really didn’t like the new change.

“I thought there was no way to change the matches, that they were definite,” he commented while glaring daggers at the Chuunin holding the plan.

“Sometimes there can be exceptions. Like this one,” he said roughly before leaving the place.

“So, now I have to fight  _you?_ ” Isao raised an eyebrow as he looked at the black haired boy. “Don’t let me down, now I’m really pissed and I can promise I will take it out on you.” Hanako frowned at him and quickly walked towards Itachi and pulled him away from the Iwagakure ninja.

“You’re not letting him threat you like that, right?” she said at him. Itachi looked at her and sighed.

“There’s nothing you should worry about. It’s fine.” Hanako pressed her lips.

“You’re awfully calm considering the situation.” She raised an eyebrow. “Did you know anything about this?”

“Well, it didn’t surprise me.” He shrugged.

“Tell me it doesn’t have anything to do with you talking to the Hokage about what we discussed.” Itachi focused his eyes on hers. They stood like that for a few minutes under a tense silence. “Itachi...” she spoke impatiently and Itachi took a deep breath.

“I may have mentioned something. It’s not my fault the Hokage is smart enough to put two and two together.” Hanako widened her eyes at him for a moment before they narrowed into a glare full of hatred.

“I can’t believe you did that...” she hissed. “Do you have the slightest idea how much I waited for this day so I could fight Isao and now I have to fight  _her?!”_  Itachi didn’t flinch even when she raised her voice at him. “You’re so selfish, Itachi! Stop thinking I can’t do things on my own!” Hanako tightened her hands into fists.

“You know what sickens me?” she asked now in a much calmer tone. “People thinking I’m weak, but do you know what sickens me the most?” Itachi just stared at her, speechless. “When my so called  _friends_  don’t believe in me.” And with that, Hanako just left, leaning back on the railings as she focused in the match in the arena.

Takeshi was by now panting in the middle of the battlefield. His chakra was lacking and he still hadn’t managed to land a single hit on his opponent.

“Shit...he’s stronger than me...” he said as sweat dripped from his forehead.

“Well, I’ve got to admit...fighting you has been more exciting than fighting Kaichi,” Hiroki commented with a smirk.

“You know...I think it’s about time we finish this.” Takeshi said while making some hand seals. Hanako’s eyes widened when she noticed this.

_‘This feeling...is that fuuton jutsu?! Since when can Takeshi manipulate his chakra nature?!’_

_“Fuuton: Renkuudan”_ The boy inhaled a fair amount of air and combining it with chakra in his lungs, he released it forming a giant air bullet moving quickly towards Hiroki. He barely dodged this attack, which went past him and in the moment it hit the ground, created a big crater.

“That was...amazing...” Hanako commented with her jaw dropped. She could feel Itachi’s eyes on her the whole time, but she just continued to ignore him.

“I think we should leave it like that,” Hiroki said staring wide eyed at the big hole on the ground. “You’re almost out of chakra. You can’t continue with this fight,” he added seriously, drifting his eyes to the brunet. He didn’t need to say anything else since Takeshi had already run out of chakra. He was lying on the floor, not able to move. The proctor analyzed him well and sighed.

“He’s out cold.” He shook his head in disapproval. “The winner of the first match: Hiroki Daishi.” People started cheering at the green haired ninja; gangsters in the bleachers started exchanging money, some winning while others losing their bets. The medics arrived and immediately put Takeshi into a stretcher to transport him to the hospital. Hiroki quickly walked into the waiting area.

Hayate cleared his voice and announced the next match: “Well, certain changes were arranged for the next fight, so, please come down Hyori Senju against Hanako Uchiha.” Everyone at the bleachers fell silent for a second, but suddenly they started shouting again. Hanako frowned when she listened to the comments people made.

“HAHA! That Senju will show the Uchiha kid who rules!”

“What are you talking about? It’s obvious the Uchiha will win, just look who it is.”

“Come on, Hanako!” Kazuki’s voice ringed in Hanako’s ears and a smile leaped into her face. Her eyes looked into the crowd until she found the black haired boy, cheering her from the bleachers. “Show them what you are made of!”

“Good luck.” Her smile suddenly vanished at the voice from behind her. She looked over at Hyori and noticed that she was staring seriously at her. Hyori’s eyes drifted to the ground when Hanako met them, before she made a series of hand seals and jumped off the railing, landing in wood trunk she summoned from the ground. The yelling got louder and louder when Hyori approached the center of the arena.

“I really need to talk to you.” Hanako shuddered when Itachi’s voice spoke right into her ear. Hanako looked over her shoulder to meet his obsidian eyes. “Please,” he spoke in a soft pleading voice that only she managed to hear.

“I have to fight,” she replied curtly, moving her eyes to the staircase right ahead and walking past him, bumping into his shoulder in the process. Itachi sighed, turning around to stare at her retreating figure as she left the waiting area.

“You shouldn’t have meddled in, Uchiha.” Isao said to him in a chuckle. He was leaning his back on the wall next to the railing. “You know, I really had the need to avenge Shun,” he commented clicking his tongue. Itachi only glared at him, not willing to respond back. Isao noticed this and chuckled even more. “Don’t you think you worry a little bit too much about her?” he continued. “You should definitely trust her strength. I’m sure she would have given me little bit of a fight.” His smirk became wicked. “That is, before I killed her.”

“You should really watch your tongue when you’re talking to me,” Itachi replied calmly, not taking his eyes off the Iwagakure Genin for even one second. “I may be holding back now, but don’t expect that from me when we’re down there in the arena.” Isao smirked and turned his head away from the Uchiha to focus on the upcoming battle. At that moment, Hiroki arrived to the waiting area and was surprised at the tense atmosphere. He decided to ignore it and silently walked towards his teammate.

 

 

The Hokage stared seriously at the two girls as they approached each other at the center of the ground. He motioned for the Jounin next to him to scout closer to him to which he immediately obliged.

“This isn’t the match I was expecting,” he said softly in to his ear. “What happened to Itachi?”

“We thought you had changed the matches. The battles were arranged this way when we picked the documents this morning at your office,” the Jounin replied in the same low voice the Hokage had used with him. The Third narrowed his eyes.

“I didn’t make such changes.”

“Anyway, I’m afraid there’s no way to change the fights now. It’s too late,” the Tsuchikage commented with a sly smirk as he turned his head towards the Hokage, who looked at him suspiciously. “You shall let it continue, the audience is already excited.” Hiruzen sighed and nodded.

“Alright.”  _‘I just hope you had nothing to do with this, Itachi_ ,’ the Hokage thought.

“Tell me I’m not late; tell me I’m not late...” The white humanoid muttered as he appeared out of a tree trunk right next to the concrete fence surrounding the Chuunin battle arena. He then came close to it, and walked into it, pushing his head out on the other side. “Phew, right on time.” Zetsu disappeared half of his body by blending it with the fence while only his face stood out from the wall. He camouflaged himself so he could watch the Uchiha’s fight without getting caught. After all, Madara wanted him to report back how she was doing.

The two girls stood facing each other in the middle of the arena. “You know,” the Uchiha started saying, “This kind of reminds me our first encounter, Hyori.” The Senju smiled playfully upon hearing that.

“This time I’m going against you with all I’ve got. No more games, Hanako,” she replied confidently.

“I agree with you.” Hanako smirked. “Because this time it won’t be an illusion.” Hyori narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha. “It will all be real.”

“I’m starting to feel the excitement between the two of you, so...” Both girls heard Hayate and immediately got into a fighting stance. “Start!”

At that moment, Hyori joined her hands into a seal and wooden pillars emerged from around her, which moved at full velocity towards the Uchiha brunette. Hanako activated her Sharingan and jumped just in time, dodging all the pillars moving her way. She jumped her way through and somehow managed to land safely on the ground, making a hand seal.

 _“Katon: Gouka Messhitsu.”_ Fire erupted from Hanako’s mouth which in seconds incinerated all the wood that attacked her. Following suit, Hanako directed the same flame towards her opponent.

“Tsk...you won’t get me with that!” Hyori made some seals. “ _Suiton: Suijinheki._ ” She created in front of her a water wall, big enough to protect herself from the fire coming her way. When both jutsus collided, they formed a steam cloud that covered the whole arena. Both girls had their visions hindered, and the audience complained since they couldn’t see what was going on with the match. Hanako sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on finding Hyori’s chakra signature.

Upon finding her, she immediately hurried toward her and kicked her in her stomach without giving her the chance to react, sending her flying out of the cloud of smoke. Hyori crashed against the wall, cracking it because of the force of the impact. Hanako made more hand seals. “ _Katon: Housenka no Jutsu._ ”

Hyori barely reacted when she saw the small fireballs heading her way. She stood up and jumped, clinging her feet into the wall with chakra concentrated at the soles of them. When the fire dissipated after they clashed against the concrete, Hyori’s eyes widened upon finding shuriken nailed to the wall.

“Not bad...” Hanako smirked at the Senju. The smoke was finally clearing out, letting the girl get a view of her opponent. “I thought you said you were going serious,” Hanako commented. “It’s that really all you’ve got?” Hyori tightened her hands into fists until her knuckles turned white.

“I’m just saving the best for last.”


	29. Hyori vs. Hanako

_Zetsu paid close_ attention to the match between the two girls. He never expected the Senju brat to be able to use Mokuton Jutsu. At first he just saw the name in the documents and decided that it would be fun to put Hanako against her, although he never planned for this. Everything was going actually better than what he had expected. Hyori’s Mokuton was still too basic, but he had to take into account that she was still young. She was around Hanako’s age, maybe a little bit younger.

Zetsu let out a low chuckle, Madara couldn’t possibly know about this, or else he would have asked for the Senju brat as well. Hanako seemed to have taken a liking into her or else the kid would have been pulverized by now —the Uchiha trained with Madara mainly on her offensive to beat Isao, which meant her defensive was a little off. Her speed and her fire jutsu improved greatly but the rest...she didn’t even think about it.

Zetsu decided not to mention anything about the Senju for both hers and Hanako’s sake. He could alter the fight when he was about to show it to Madara anyway, instead of wood he would make it look as if she attacked with earth jutsus.

“Not bad...” Hanako smirked at the Senju. The smoke was finally clearing out, so Zetsu focused once again in the fight. “I thought you said you were going serious,” Hanako commented. “It’s that really all you’ve got?” Hyori tightened her hands into fists until her knuckles turned white.

“I’m just saving the best for last.” The Uchiha frowned at that. “You just wait for it.” With that said, Hyori launched herself against her opponent aiming a punch at her face. Hanako saw this and received the hit with her palm. Hanako’s eyes widened at its force of impact and wrapped her hand around the Senju’s fist. Hyori clicked her tongue and aimed for a kick at Hanako’s side but the Uchiha grabbed her ankle with her free hand.

Hyori smirked. This was best for her since now the Uchiha didn’t have any more hands to stop her hits. She formed her free hand into a fist and directed it to Hanako’s head. Hanako tilted her head sideways, letting the fist past. Hanako’s eyes focused on the Senju’s hand and that’s when she noticed the fine layer of chakra surrounding it.

“I see... That’s how it works...” Hanako muttered under her breath, letting go of the Senju and flipping backwards. Hyori frowned and concentrated her chakra on the soles of her feet and pushed her way towards the Uchiha, trying her best at landing a hit on her. She aimed everywhere she could. Up. Down. Left. Right. But Hanako evaded all of them by moving her body away from her fist just in time. Hanako observed cautiously each of her movements, noticing the small wave of chakra that came from the Senju’s fist every time she hit the air around her. Hyori moved fast, Hanako could only evade her hits thanks to her Sharingan and her speed.

“Dammit!” The Senju girl cursed. She couldn’t hit her. Hanako at that moment jumped away, and landed a great distance away from her. Hyori only started at her with an angry look.

“You’re good,” Hanako commented, raising her hand, opening and closing it slowly as if trying to alleviate some kind of pain. “I had forgotten you use chakra to increase damage and speed of your Taijutsu. If I hadn’t put chakra into my hand in the first hit, you could have easily broken it.” The Uchiha looked up at the other girl with an amused smile. Hyori didn’t say anything and again, launched herself at full speed at Hanako. “Come on, I’m getting tired of this game.” Hanako commented as she saw through the Senju’s intentions. She was aiming for a kick at her ribs but yet again she grabbed her ankle and smirked. The Uchiha pulled her and spun around throwing her away. Hyori gasped as she went flying across the arena. When she hit the ground, she rolled for a couple meters, leaving a trail behind as she slid backwards. “When are you getting serious?” Hanako looked at her while crossing her arms in front of her chest. Hyori smirked and chuckled lowly.

“You didn’t see it, huh? Good.” Hanako narrowed her eyes at what she said. What hadn’t she seen? She was sure she had paid attention to every single one of her movements. “How about now?!” Hanako’s eyes suddenly widened when she felt a chakra source coming from beneath her. Hyori made her way out from the ground and landed a powerful punch on her stomach, drawing all the air from her lungs. Hanako went flying backwards until she crashed against the wall of the arena, crating it and making it tremble slightly. The Hyori that was previously lying on the ground turned into a wooden doll.

Everyone at the arena suddenly stood up and ran towards the railing, trying to see what happened to the Uchiha, but all they could see was the dust that rose from the impact. The arena went silent for some minutes until the dust cleared up and they stared at the Uchiha, leaning against the destroyed wall with blood trickling from her mouth and the back of her head.

“Is she unconscious?”

“Whoa! That punch sure was powerful!”

“Is she even alive?!”

Everyone in the arena started muttering their own guesses. Itachi tightened his hold on the railing. Hayate approached the Uchiha girl cautiously. He could feel her chakra surrounding her, he didn’t know for a fact if the girl was out but he was sure she wasn’t dead. Up close she didn’t seem to have received that much damage, the only sign of it was the blood staining her clothes. Hayate sighed but he was alert once he felt the girl move.

“That...hurt...” she muttered silently, but loud enough for him to hear her. Scratch her being unconscious. She was awake and alive.

“That was quite a blow. You should rest, I’ll finish—” Hayate started raising his hand but Hanako stopped him by wrapping her hand tightly around his wrist. Hayate looked down at her, clearly surprised.

“Don’t you dare stop the match,” she hissed, cleaning the blood from her mouth with her free hand. “I’m just getting started.” She finished with a smirk as she stood up and looked at Hyori with her Sharingan activated.

Cheers suddenly erupted from the balconies as Hanako walked until she stood a few meters away from the Senju. Shisui smiled softly as his eyes focused on the brunette. He knew Hanako wouldn’t be that easy to defeat. Itachi also knew this and sighed relieved when she stood up. He hadn’t expected the Senju to be this strong either. Zetsu, on the other hand, seemed quite entertained with the fight.

Hyori looked seriously at the Uchiha with her eyes narrowed. That blow should have left her unconscious, why was she awake? No, she wasn’t going to lose. Without giving a second thought she made a hand seal.

 _“Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu!”_ Hyori extended her hand and her fingers stretched out turning into wood. Hanako jumped away just in time to see the wood crash against the wall, destroying it even more. The Uchiha landed on the ground and skidded a few meters back.

 _“Tsuyoi...”_ Hanako muttered while focusing her eyes on the Senju. She had improved quite a lot since their last fight. She smirked while pondering a plan, it was better to find a way to finish the battle quickly or else it would extend for too long. She pulled out bunch of kunai with explosive tags attached to them and nailed them close to the Senju. Hyori looked at them cautiously, none of them were close enough to cause her any type of damage, and so what was the trick?

The tags exploded, creating a smoke curtain that surrounded Hyori. Hanako walked into it, deactivating her Sharingan since it was rather useless now that she couldn’t see anything. She focused on her sensor abilities to locate the Senju and ran towards her, hitting her from all her blind spots, which the Uchiha deduced from her previous attacks.

“This is for that last punch,” she muttered finally as she landed a hit on her left cheek which made Hyori land roughly on the ground panting. They stood like that until the smoke cleared.

“The tables turned pretty quickly,” the Tsuchikage commented. “Those girls are pretty entertaining.” The Third Hokage looked for a moment at Oonoki to find him staring intently at the Uchiha girl with his eyes narrowed.

“Possibly,” Hiruzen commented as he turned back to the arena and observed the Senju girl trying to stand up after the beating she just received inside the cloud of smoke.

“That’s enough, Hyori,” Hanako said as she stared at the Senju who had trouble even standing properly. “Let’s leave it like that.”

“No.” Hyori straightened up and looked at her determinedly. “I haven’t lost yet.” She made yet another seal with her hands. “ _Mokuton no Jutsu_!” Wooden pillars emerged from all the ground that even the proctor had to dodge.

“Why do you continue?!” Hanako inquired, standing over one of the pillars. Hyori stood in the pillar in front of her.

“I don’t want to lose to you.” The Senju was so determined, it made Hanako tighten her hands into fists. “People always talk about the Uchiha Clan being one of the strongest clans in Konoha...but what happened to the Senju? Did everyone forget about the Uchiha’s longtime rivals?” Hyori shook her head. “I want to fight for my clan, and I want to defeat you, Hanako Uchiha.” At that moment, she made some hand seals and attacked the Uchiha with wooden stakes. Hanako pulled out a kunai and surrounded it with wind style chakra, using it to cut through the wood and jump down to the ground. “Why aren’t you using your Sharingan?! Are you underestimating me as well?!” The Uchiha sighed at that and shook her head.

“No. I constantly use up chakra when I have it activated since my body molds a lot to be able to keep up with my opponent. Although I haven’t used too much chakra, I have no way of assuring how much time this fight could take, so it’s better not to waste it,” Hanako said with a shrug. ‘ _Besides,_ ’ she thought while looking sideways at Isao _, ‘I need to save my chakra. According to Obito, Iwagakure plans to attack after the Chuunin Exam is over and everyone lets their guard down.’_

 _‘This kid...’_ Hayate narrowed his eyes while looking at the Uchiha. _‘It’s more than obvious that she has experience in a real fight, something that no Genin should have yet. Plus, a normal Genin shouldn’t be able to handle an attack like that as if nothing. Just who is this girl?’_

“Unlike you, Hyori,” Hanako continued. “I don’t use my chakra in useless techniques trying to hit my opponent. You should stop and think if it’ll work before wasting your energy imprudently.” She frowned. “In a mission, not only your life will be at stake but your comrades’ as well. The probabilities of a jutsu working depend on a good strategy. And for that there are various factors that you must analyze.” Hanako’s eyes softened for a moment. “Hyori, I don’t need to have my Sharingan activated to see that you’re already out of chakra. You’re at your limit, the battle is over.”

“You’re wrong...This is barely the beginning!” Hyori launched herself at Hanako again but suddenly felt dizzy in midair and felt as if all her energy was being sucked out of her. Hanako noticed this and caught her before she could get hurt.

“I told you, stop it.” Hanako sighed tiredly. “If you don’t want to, then I’ll have to—” she started saying as she slowly lifted her hand but the Senju stopped her, gaining her attention.

“Don’t.” She did her best to stand up and face the girl with the little strength she had left. “We will finish this battle until one of us loses consciousness.”

Hanako stared at her and smiled softly, closing her eyes. “Fine.”

Hayate suddenly stood in the middle of the two girls and extended his arms towards them, pushing them away from each other. “I think it is enough.”

“We don’t.” The Uchiha responded firmly. “We want to finish this,” she said, staring intently at Hyori.

“If you don’t let us fight inside the arena, then we’ll just have to continue outside of it.” The Senju agreed with a playful smirk.

“Just give me one minute and I’ll finish this,” Hanako said with a shrug earning a glare from her opponent.

“Excuse me?!” Hyori snapped with a vein popping from her forehead.

“You just can’t leave it like that, can you?” Hayate asked with a sigh.

“NO!” The two girls replied in unison.

“I’ll show you who the winner is, Uchiha!” Hyori pointed her finger at Hanako which only made her chuckle.

“Sure you will.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Suddenly wood-like ropes appeared from the ground and wrapped around the girl, tightly. Hanako gasped and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a log in her place.

“What?!” Hyori widened her eyes. She thought she had caught her off guard.

“2...1...” Hanako muttered in her ear when suddenly she felt a stinging pain in her neck and everything around her turned black as she fell to the ground unconscious.

Hayate raised an eyebrow at her. This ending was just...unexpected. Hanako looked at him as if she hadn’t done anything. “What? I told you it’d be over in a minute.” Hayate looked over at the Senju and shook his head. “She couldn’t fight anyway. I wasn’t kidding when I said she had run out of chakra, or else I’m certain she would have avoided that.” Hanako added. Hayate sighed.

“The winner of the second match: Hanako Uchiha.” After that, people started cheering from the balconies. Hanako turned her head to look at Kazuki and smiled upon seeing him, happily jumping and shouting. After that, her eyes drifted to Shisui, who only stared at her with a serious expression. Hanako frowned.  _‘He couldn’t still be mad at me, could he? I won after all.’_

Shisui seemed to notice that the Uchiha girl was looking at him and took the chance to mumble something with his lips. _‘We need to talk. NOW.’_ After saying this, he suddenly vanished into thin air. Hanako narrowed her eyes, what could he possibly want now.

The medics had already taken Hyori out of the arena, and Itachi and Isao were already heading towards where she was standing. Hanako sighed when Itachi suddenly stood at her side. “You had an interesting match,” he said in his usual calm voice. “Congrats.” Hanako looked at Itachi sideways and nodded.

“Thanks,” she replied curtly before heading back to the waiting section, where Hiroki expected her. When she passed in front of the entrance to the arena, she noticed Shisui was lying against the wall and motioning for her to come at him with his fingers. Hanako rolled her eyes and changed her direction to walk towards him.

 

 

Itachi stood in the middle of the arena, facing Isao as he waited for their match to begin. Every once in a while, he would turn his head towards the waiting section, somehow expecting the brunette to be there watching his match as she cheered at him. But again, Itachi was disappointed to find only Hiroki supporting him. Hanako wasn’t there. Was she really that mad at him to leave right after her match was over, not even bothering to wish him good luck?

He sighed. Maybe there was a reason to it he couldn’t understand at the moment. But he was definitely not going to let her be mad at him for long. After this match was over, he needed to speak to her.

Itachi turned back his head to his opponent, only to find him staring at him amusedly. “Don’t worry too much, after this you’ll have plenty of time to get her back,” he commented in a chuckle. “I just hope she’s really into bluffers like you, or else, you’d be wasting your time.” Itachi frowned. “Although, on the bright side, if she isn’t here, she won’t be a distraction for you, which means we can go full on each other.” Isao added with a playful smirk.

“Good...start!” After the proctor said this, Itachi immediately activated his Sharingan at the moment Isao made the seals to become invisible.

“You should know that jutsu doesn’t work on me,” Itachi said as he pulled out a kunai from his pouch and launched it towards Isao, nailing it on his arm. The Iwa ninja chuckled as he reached for the knife in his limb and pulled it out revealing his new earned wound.

“You have some fine eyes.” Isao said in a mocking tone. “I think this means I’ll have to go serious against you.” The smirk vanished from his lips as he played with the kunai in his hands. He made his body completely visible once again and got into a fighting stance.

 

 

“Are you still mad at me?” Hanako asked as she leaned tiredly against the bark of a tree. She had followed Shisui towards one of the training grounds far from the arena after he had motioned for her to meet him. Shisui had remained extremely silent around her, which only convinced her of her assumptions.

“Well, I think you know why,” he replied, staring seriously at her. He wasn’t glaring, although she pretty much felt it that way. “Hanako, it isn’t possible for you to have trained alone in one week and improved that much. You were way faster than in our trainings” Shisui narrowed his eyes. “And I’m sure I never taught you a fire jutsu that powerful. That jutsu is A-rank, a Genin shouldn’t be able to perform something like that. I don’t even know it myself.” He was now looking incredulously at her. “Where the hell were you?”

Hanako shrugged. “I found it in an old scroll of jutsus of the clan. It’s no big deal, I can teach it to you if you’d like.” Hanako lied as she thought of Madara. She couldn’t say anything about him, or else things could get pretty nasty between her and the village. Shisui sighed, he knew she was lying but shook his head.

“Nevermind. You did pretty well.” He finally smiled softly at her. “You never cease to amaze me. I’m pretty sure you’re already a Chuunin, so I’ll just congratulate you in advance.” Hanako smirked, feeding with pride at his words. “But yet, why was your match changed?” Her smirk was slapped away from her face as she remembered the reason for her anger towards Itachi.

“You might want to ask Itachi. He spoke to the Hokage about it.” Shisui chuckled at that.

“It doesn’t surprise me. Although, now that you mention it, there was another reason I brought you here to talk.” The Uchiha commented as he got serious all of a sudden. Hanako looked at him strangely. “The attack Iwagakure is planning against the village.”

 

 

Isao was panting, kneeling on the ground. He held his head as if he was in pain.

“I think I should call for the end of this match.” Hayate commented as he raised his hand. “The winner of the last match: Itachi Uchiha.” Everyone cheered from the balconies at the winner, but he was too focused on the waiting area to care. Hiroki was shouting at him, praising him for his victory. But this didn’t feel good to Itachi, this didn’t fulfill him. Suddenly his eyes widened when beside his teammate, the brunette suddenly appeared and stared down at the arena with a surprised frame.

Itachi smiled softly. She had come. He jumped towards the railing of the waiting section and stood in front of her. Hanako, upon noticing him, took a few steps backwards, getting suddenly uncomfortable at the closeness.

“I understand if you’re mad at me, but there’s something I need to tell you.” Itachi suddenly said, before any of them could say anything. Hanako looked up at him, as a frown formed on her face. “I did ask the Third to consider the battle arrangements, but he never agreed to change them.” Hanako’s eyes widened upon hearing this.

“You mean that...” Itachi nodded.

“The Hokage didn’t change the matches.”

“But only he can…” The Uchiha girl was confused. If the old man didn’t change the opponents, then who did?

“He didn’t.” Itachi’s eyes softened as he drifted his gaze away from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you. I just...didn’t expect you would get this mad.” Hanako pressed her lips before sighing.

“Fine. But I’m still angry at you though, this doesn’t change the fact that you doubted me.” Hanako replied while crossing her arms in front of her chest. Itachi smirked slightly as he stepped down from the railing and into the ground of the waiting area, and took short but quick steps towards the brunette. Hanako eyed him cautiously.

“I’m also sorry about that. You proved me wrong.” Itachi said and stood right in front of her. “I’ll never doubt you again.” Hanako’s lips twitched upwards a little bit but she made her effort not to smile. She knew she couldn’t stay mad at Itachi too long for reasons she couldn’t seem to understand, but she couldn’t let him win that easily over her.

“That doesn’t change anything,” she said in rough voice. Having the boy so close to her, made her want to giggle nervously and she was having a hard time trying to contain her laughter. Itachi seemed to notice this as a smile formed on his lips. He knew that she had already forgiven him, she was just playing tough. Although for him was amusing to play along with it.

“If it makes you feel better, Hyori was way stronger than Isao from what I saw. Itachi beat him in less than ten minutes.” Hiroki commented, gaining the attention of both Uchihas. They had forgotten for a moment that he was still there with them and right know he was watching them with a playful grin and mischievous eyes. Hanako felt the color rise to her cheeks and looked away from the boys.

“Don’t brag about a fight I didn’t watch. I will fight Isao anyway, so I don’t hold any grudges towards you, Itachi,” Hanako said in a serious tone as she regained composure. “I just came to tell you that tonight, Iwagakure will be attacking the Hokage mansion.”

 

* * *

 

“I’m quite disappointed in you, Isao.” His sensei spoke to him in a low voice. “You were defeated so miserably by that Uchiha.” Isao only shrugged.

“I didn’t want to extend the match for too long. The Tsuchikage was already growing impatient.” He replied while tightening his hands into fists. He lost against the Uchiha, he couldn’t deny that. But he could have done so much better if he didn’t let himself get caught in his Genjutsu.

“Are you aware of the kind of performance you gave the Kages back there? You should be ashamed.” Isao frowned.

“I’ll make up for it, tonight. Don’t worry about it,” he said in a menacing tone. He couldn’t stand when his sensei spoke so casually to him, he couldn’t understand what he went through to be criticizing him like that.

All the Iwagakure ninja that had come to apply for the Chuunin Exam regrouped in the hotel the village had readied for them. Now that the Exam was over, they were to leave the village the next morning.

“We have to leave soon.” Rui reminded them.

“Yes.” One of the senseis nodded. “We’ll leave tonight. But before that, we’re going to attack the Hokage’s mansion. We are going to set the building on fire, and head towards the village before they figure it was our doing. The Tsuchikage is already on his way, we’ll meet him at the border.” Everyone nodded their head and started packing their bags with all their belongings. Isao stood at one corner of the room, observing everyone with intent eyes. The time for his revenge had finally come.

 


	30. The Attack of Iwagakure

_“Oh? You’ve come_ back?” Madara called when he sensed movement within the cave. Zetsu appeared on the ground before him with an amused grin. Madara stared at him, raising one of his thin white eyebrows. “What’s gotten you so happy?”

“You have no idea of the fight you missed,” Zetsu said in a childish voice, sounding excited. “You did a good job with Hanako’s training,” Madara smirked.

“When don’t I?” he replied. “Anyway, show me the fight. I won’t comment until I see it for myself.”

“Sure.” Zetsu looked at the man in the eye, and soon the images started to form in his head. For Madara, it was a nice sight to see. Both girls had their right moves. Worthy opponents for the future, he thought. “I wonder though, how Hanako managed to get barely a scratch after that hit. The stomach is quite a sensible spot; she shouldn’t have been able to move,” Zetsu commented.

“How come you didn’t notice?” Madara looked at the white humanoid, Zetsu only stared back at him with confusion in his eyes. “Look closely at the girl’s fist. There’s a fine layer of chakra between it and Hanako’s stomach.” Zetsu focused on the image and noticed the green layer of chakra. It was invisible unless one focused hard enough to see it, although he wasn’t surprised Madara saw it without effort.

“What’s that?”

“Susano’o,” said Madara with a smirk.

“Wha—what?!” Zetsu’s eyes widened.

 “The Susano’o reflects any type of Ninjutsu or Taijutsu. In this case, Hanako used it to reflect the fist’s damage away from her stomach. The amount of chakra the fist held, though, is what sent her flying backwards. The damage she got was from hitting the wall; the hit itself didn’t affect her at all.” Madara explained, enjoying the look of incredulity in Zetsu’s eyes.

“But, how are you so sure of it being the Susano’o? That would mean she has...”

“Yes...The Mangekyou Sharingan,” the old man affirmed. “Come to think of it, she meets all the requirements. She mastered the normal Sharingan and she’s experienced death. She saw her father being killed; the trauma should have been more than enough to awake it.”

“But...”

“I’ve seen it, Zetsu.” Madara added. “She used it to protect herself in one of our trainings. I forced it out of her because I felt the power hidden in her eyes from the moment Obito brought her the first time.” Zetsu remained silent for a moment.

“But, how come she never used it?”

“She doesn’t understand what the Mangekyou is,” Madara said. “That’s part of the reason I sent her to read the Uchiha stone, but she still doesn’t get it. Apart from the Susano’o, I have no idea what kind of abilities she might have. I’ve never seen that design.” He made an extreme effort and stood up. That body wouldn’t last much longer. He guessed it was time to let Obito take it from there.

“Zetsu. Tell Hanako and Obito to come. I’d like to speak to them one last time before my time comes.” The humanoid nodded and disappeared without a trace. Madara let himself fall on the chair once again. He couldn’t walk anymore, and feeling that way was disgusting enough. It was better for him to die now and revive at full power when it was time. Nagato had the Rinnegan. They would gather all the Bijuu and seal them into the Gedou Statue. And then, the plan would begin.

 

* * *

 

“Then, what’s the plan?” Hiroki asked as he stared at his companions. Itachi, Hanako, Shisui and he were assembled in one of the training grounds, ‘discussing’ what they would do to deal with the Iwagakure’s attack. Hanako looked up at the sky and sighed.

“What can we do?” Shisui looked at her and then his eyes drifted towards the top of the Hokage’s place that towered over the trees. The Hokage wouldn’t provide them any kind of help even if they asked for it. Besides, that would draw too much attention and might call for a war between the two villages. In other words, they had to do it on their own. Four ninjas: one Jounin and three Genin —possibly Chuunin— against three teams of Iwagakure shinobi.

“If I’m not mistaken, they’re planning on setting the Hokage building on fire. We just have to stop them before they do.” The older Uchiha said as he looked keenly at all of the present ninjas. “The Tsuchikage left the village as soon as the Exam ended, he might be reaching the border of the Fire Country by midnight. The rest should be on their way by sunset.”

“It can’t be.” Hiroki raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “They made all this scandal, just to set the Hokage building on fire? What a waste of time.” The green haired boy sighed in disappointment as he let himself fall on his butt on the ground.

Hanako stared at him until she noticed three familiar chakras heading towards them at a quick pace. She turned herself towards the upcoming figures, ignoring all the curious stares the others gave her. Finally, the Senju girl appeared from the trees, accompanied by her two teammates, Ren and Kaichi.

“I see you finally woke up.” The Uchiha brunette commented with a playful smirk as she stared at Hyori, who was fuming to no end.

“How  _dare_  you?!” Hyori hissed as she pointed an accusing finger at her. “Do you have any idea of how humiliating it was for me that you knocked me out like that?!”

Hanako sighed. “You said the match would end until one of us fell unconscious.” She shrugged. “Technically, I just ended the match.” The Uchiha looked over at the Senju only to find her glaring daggers at her. “What? Are you mad at me for that?”

“I AM!” She said in a loud voice. “I thought you’d at least do an amazing jutsu to defeat me, but noooooo, you had to fucking knock me out like some piece of dipshit!” Hyori nagged and immediately turned away, feeling embarrassed.

“You know, a lady doesn’t look good speaking such a colorful language.” Shisui commented with a sweat drops rolling down his temples. Kaichi laughed at that.

“Come on, Hyori. You have to admit it was an unexpected closure. I bet it was the most entertaining fight in years on the Chuunin Exams. I couldn’t hear people stop talking about your Mokuton and Hanako’s Sharingan.” Ren commented while placing back his glasses. “They even mentioned something about a fight between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.”

“Madara Uchiha?” Hanako snapped almost immediately upon hearing the name.

“Yes.” Ren looked at the Uchiha strangely, surprised by her sudden interest in the name. “Why?” Everyone looked expectantly at the brunette who only shook her head and looked away not giving it any more importance.

“No reason, I just seem to be hearing that name a lot lately.” She said. Shisui narrowed his eyes at her, being noticed only by Itachi who frowned and looked between the two of them. “I just want to have an idea of who he is, that’s all.” All of the present seemed to take that answer; however, Hanako’s curiosity was still unsatisfied.

They started moving once again towards the Hokage mansion. The sky was starting to darken, which meant the Iwagakure ninja would soon start acting upon their plan. Hyori, Kaichi, and Ren started following the rest of the gang when they suddenly hurried out of the training grounds.

“What are you guys planning?!” Hyori inquired once she took notice of them getting closer to the Hokage building.

“We need to save the Hokage.” Hiroki replied. “Iwagakure is planning on attacking the village, but we are going to stop them.” The Senju widened her eyes.

“An attack?!” When they heard this, they suddenly stopped moving. Hanako and the rest came to a halt when they saw the other team stop in their tracks. “I thought they had signed a peace treaty, and that they had invited Iwagakure for the Chuunin Exams to confirm it.”

“As if Konoha and Iwa could live at peace...” Hanako muttered under her breath. Although Itachi heard her and dedicated her a warning glance.

“You should let go of that hatred within you, it’s not good for you.” Hanako glared harshly at him,

“As if you could understand me.” She tightened her hands into fists. “It’s wasn’t your father who was killed by them!” She said loudly, getting almost to the point of shouting at him. Itachi stared at her with serious eyes and a calm expression. “They think they can come around, taking with them whatever they want, but it doesn’t work that way,” she hissed. “They took something valuable from me, and I’m certainly not letting them do it again!” With that said, Hanako rushed at full speed towards the Third’s mansion. There she felt a group of familiar chakra’s assembled and a smirk took over her lips.


	31. Ryotenbin no Oonoki

_The Iwagakure ninjas_ were assembled near the Hokage Tower, readying themselves to complete their plan.

“Ready?” Kento looked at Isao who only nodded.

The black haired boy pulled out from his weapon pouch a bunch of explosive tags and prepared to set them in strategic spots.

“Tonight, you’ll say bye-bye to this pathetic village, Hokage- _sama_.” Isao muttered in a mocking tone while he launched the kunai with some other explosive tags attached to it.

The leader of the team made the signal and the aforementioned made a hand seal.

“Die.” He smirked as he waited for the tags to explode, but he frowned when they didn’t. “But what—?” That’s when he saw her. There standing, right over the big balcony at the tower, she stared down at them. The one who should have been his opponent at the Chuunin Exam. Hanako chuckled.

“Something must be wrong with your plan.” She said, showing him the explosive tag she held in her hand. “To cause a chain of explosives without wasting too much chakra you need to have one that would start the series of explosions. But when that tag doesn’t explode, then neither does.” She smirked evilly. Isao tightened his fists at her mocking tone. The rest of them only stared at her utterly confused.

“In what moment did she...?” Hanako concentrated her chakra in the hand she held the tag and a small fire lighted from the tip of the paper. All of them covered themselves expecting the explosion but realized it wasn’t exploding when they heard her chuckle. They looked up at her to see the tag consume itself in the fire, leaving behind only ashes that were carried away by the wind.

“I deactivated the explosion.” She clarified. “The explosive tags are made of the paper from chakra bred trees. It reacts with the minimum sign of chakra, but generally it depends on the nature of the ninja. If I apply enough chakra, it will react to its nature leaving behind its explosive nature.”

“Well, it doesn’t surprise me that an Uchiha like you has fire nature.” Isao chuckled. “But I still don’t get where are you getting with this.”

All of the Iwagakure ninjas turned to look at them worriedly. They all knew about the info Shun had left them, but Isao was the only one who didn’t want to believe it.

“Isao.” His sensei hissed at him. “Do you remember what I told you yesterday?” Isao glared at him with narrowed eyes. He remembered it too well.

“I already told you it was a Jounin who caused that fire, there’s no way this little brat could have done it.” Hanako sighed when she heard him.

“I don’t take Shun for the lying type—”

“He wasn’t lying, just mistaken.” Isao clarified.

“But he was right.” Hanako butted in, calling the attention of the Iwa shinobi. “I was the one who caused that fire.” She confirmed, taking in all the shocked expressions of the ninjas.

Hanako knew the moment she said it, there was no turning back. The Hokage had asked her to remain silent but they had the right to know. All of them must’ve had a relative in that town that died on her fault. “If you’re seeking revenge, I’m the one to blame not the Hokage nor the village.” She tightened her hands into fists. Three Jounin and eight Genin with the strength of Chuunin, against one Genin. It wasn’t going to be easy.

“I hate having you run from us like that.” Hanako heard a voice say next to her, and she turned to find Shisui staring intently at the ninjas.

“I’m sorry,” Hanako smiled softly. She was glad they had caught up with her. “I tend to be impulsive.”

Shisui chuckled slightly upon hearing her. “Don’t you think I already know that?” He looked at her for a moment. The rest of the team reached their location and pulled out their weapons.

“Oh? So you’ve brought backup, huh?” One of the Iwa Jounin murmured with a smirk. “Guess, we’ll just have to kill you as well.”

Hanako observed the ninjas in front of her. Everyone was in their stance, ready to fight; however there was a certain Genin who called her attention. Isao looked back at her with an evil grin. “Last time we fought each other was in the Forest of Death,” he said as he pulled a kunai from his pouch. “This time, I won’t play around. I will use my full power with you. After seeing your match in the third test, I’m positive you can keep up with me.”

Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line. “Well, what are we waiting for?” she hissed through gritted teeth. Isao chuckled.

“ _Meisaigakure no Jutsu,”_ Hanako smirked.

“You _do_ know that jutsu doesn’t work on me right?” Hanako didn’t have her Sharingan activated, but she could sense that Isao hadn’t moved from his place. Then he laughed, and disappeared. Hanako widened her eyes as Kaichi was suddenly lifted from the ground and thrown against a wall.

“Kaichi!” Hanako heard Hyori call to him in a worried tone, rushing towards him. She pressed her lips tightly. Isao had combined his speed with the camouflaging jutsu, making it harder for anyone to follow his movements.

“It may not work against you, Sharingan users, but I can’t say the same about the rest of you,” said Isao. Hanako cursed under her breath, looking sideways at Shisui. When he met her gaze, he nodded swiftly. Both Uchiha looked at Isao, and activated their Doujutsu in sync.

The Tsuchikage must have been a good distance away from the village at the time, so Hanako had to hurry so that she could catch up to him. She made a seal with her hands and concentrated a big amount of chakra in her chest. “ _Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku._ ” Ever since Madara had taught her that jutsu, Hanako had preferred it over the normal _Goukkakyu_ because of its larger range. The _Gouka Mekkyaku_ quickly covered her entire surroundings in the hot flames of the fire. Even the Konoha Genin had to find a place to protect themselves from the fire. Hanako jumped to the top of a tree to watch the flames burning brightly until they consumed everything in its wake. The sight brought memories to the girl.

 

_Hanako walked through the dark passage of a cave with her Sharingan activated, careful not to trip over a loose rock. When she reached the end of the tunnel, she found herself in a spacious room. Madara was waiting for her. The room was so dark, Hanako barely managed to discern a bed in a faraway corner, and the wooden throne in which Madara was sitting. He had his eyes closed as he breathed deeply and rhythmically. Hanako wondered if he had been sleeping and decided to approach him. Close enough, Madara finally opened his eyes and looked up at her._

_“You came,” he said. Hanako stopped walking and tilted her head as he looked strangely at him._

_“I thought you were sleeping,” she commented curiously. He chuckled, shaking his head._

_“When you sleep, there always has to be a part of you with your guard up, or else you might get killed while in Dreamland, young ninja.”_

_Hanako rolled her eyes. “Hai, hai…”_

_“Besides,” Madara continued. “I sensed you coming from a mile away.” To that, Hanako raised an eyebrow._

_“You sensed me, you say? Are you a sensor?”_

_“I am, you should be able to tell. We sensors can easily identify those of our type.”_

_“Type?” Hanako chuckled. “I’m sorry, does that make us the same type? Because I’m sorry old man, but I’m quite certain you’re not my type.”_

_Madara stared hardly at her. “You’re not funny, you know that?” Hanako clicked her tongue._

_“You’re not funny…” Hanako mimicked his voice in a mocking fashion. “Come on, gramps. You have a sense of chakra but not a sense of humor?” She raised an eyebrow. She didn’t get a response on Madara’s part. At least verbally, instead she barely had time to dodge the big scythe coming towards her. “Jeez! Easy gramps! You ought to be more careful while handling your cane!”_

_“Stop playing around.” Madara’s tone was final, making Hanako shut up at how authoritative he sounded._

_“Hush…I can see life wasn’t very nice to you,” she muttered under her breath. Madara slowly stood up from his throne and walked towards her, with the support his scythe gave him. When he reached her side, he softly placed one of his calloused hands on her shoulder._

_“Let’s begin with the training,” he said and Hanako nodded. Madara continued to walk past her, and she followed him closely until they reached a second area of the cave. Madara couldn’t walk too far from the main room, he was still connected to the Gedou Statue._

_Hanako observed the walls. There were numerous types of weapons hung up in exhibition, but only one managed to get her full attention. It looked like a big fan with three tomoes designed on its cover. She walked closer to it. “Is this yours?” she asked Madara as she grazed the fan with her fingers._

_“Yeah, it’s a Gunbai. Although it’s understandable if you don’t know what it is or what it does.” Hanako inflated her cheeks as she looked away from him._

_“Are you suggesting something?” Madara chuckled._

_“Not at all. They rarely make weapons like this nowadays. Besides, a weapon like this one implies lot of responsibility and power. You have to work more on your abilities if you ever want to use it.” Hanako turned to look fully at the elder, with some difficulties since that room was darker than the previous one. “Let’s start working in Ninjutsu,” Madara said. “Do you have any other nature besides fire?”_

_“Wind,” Hanako nodded. She didn’t know any elemental techniques of the nature, however she knew she had an affinity towards it._

_Madara’s lips widened into a playful smirk. “I see…”_

_“Why don’t we get started? Let’s not miss your nap time, Madara-jii.” The man chuckled menacingly._

_“As you wish.”_

_In seconds, Madara had made a series of hand seals which Hanako had trouble identifying even with her Sharingan activated. “Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku.” A big flame came out of Madara’s mouth, which covered almost every corner of the cave. Hanako jumped and glued herself to the ceiling by concentrating her chakra on the soles of her feet. The fire jutsu had an amazing range of attack, she noted. It wasn’t anything like she had ever seen… it was majestic._

_Hanako felt so drawn to the fire, it reminded her of the village she had burnt down. She hadn’t noticed that her chakra had reacted protectively and surrounded her completely. It started taking the form of a skeleton, and it shined a bright green color. The rib cage enclosed her, and she realized it was keeping the fire away from her._

_Hanako jumped from the ceiling and landed on the ground, the green chakra still covering her body. However, it disappeared when she suddenly felt a hurtful pressure inside her head. She fell on her knees, taking deep breaths until the pain finally receded. “What was that?” she croaked._

_Madara walked in her direction. Hanako heard his slow and echoing steps as he approached. She slowly looked up at him, only to meet his playful eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t understand what was carved on the stone?” he said in a mocking tone. “Because it appears to me that you did. I never thought that a brat like you could have awakened the Mangekyou.” Hanako frowned._

_‘Mangekyou? The hell is that?’_

_“What are you talking about?” Hanako inquired, standing up slowly. She felt a little bit dazed, but she recovered quickly._

_“You just resorted to using the Susano’o. That’s a jutsu only an Uchiha who possesses the Mangekyou in both eyes can perform.” Hanako narrowed her eyes._

_“Ah…my head is starting to hurt again with all those names…” she muttered tiredly, rubbing the top of her head as if she were trying to alleviate the pain._

_“The green chakra that protected you, that’s the Susano’o.” Madara explained with a sigh._

_“And what’s the other thing you mentioned? The Mankegyuu…”_

_“Mangekyou.” Madara was getting closer to exasperation. “It’s the Sharingan’s next evolution. Its power is explained in the Uchiha stone, but I’ll talk to you about it some other time. Right now, I’m going to teach you fire techniques. Since fire is your first affinity, you’ll be mastering them in no time.”_

 

 

The fire died down and the smoke started to dissipate. Hanako could still feel the chakras of the Iwagakure shinobi around her. Isao’s chakra was right behind her, and for a second Hanako almost didn’t dodge his attack. He had pulled a kunai from his pouch and tried to stab her, but Hanako moved to the side just in time. He was still camouflaged to his surroundings but she had no trouble perceiving his chakra. He might have been invisible, but even the smoke reacted to his fast movements. He moved his arm back and balled his hand into a fist. In a moment he aimed for Hanako’s stomach, but she jumped away. Isao’s fist collided with a tree trunk behind her, crushing the bark.

Hanako landed a few meters away from him, and observed him just as he undid his camouflaging technique and appeared visible once again. He gave her an annoyed look.

“That jutsu…so it really was you?” Hanako frowned. Was he finally accepting it was her? She didn’t say anything as she watched him. He was breathing heavily, covering his face with his hands, and then he screamed in anger. “You stupid brat!” He looked at her with hatred filled eyes and launched towards her. Hanako moved again, watching as Isao went past her. He was so blinded by hatred that he wasn’t able to think straight.

“It isn’t fun…fighting you like this,” Hanako muttered to herself as she kicked Isao to the side when he went to attack her again. He flew and crashed against another tree, breaking through the wood of the trunk. Without giving him a chance to stand up, Hanako hurried towards the spot where he landed and pushed him with her foot further into the ground, knocking him out in the process. She sighed. “Already done?” she smiled. “I can’t believe I was afraid of you just one month ago.”

“Where did you learn that fire jutsu?” Shisui asked. Hanako almost jumped at the sudden voice, but she just looked at him from over her shoulder with a plain expression. He was standing behind her, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She smiled.

“Are you done?”

“There are just a few of them left. I was worried about you, so I came—”

“There is nothing to worry about, I’m fine and done.” Hanako turned towards Shisui, leaving Isao’s unconscious body on the ground. Silently, Hanako was looking for the Tsuchikage’s chakra. Shisui had said he should still be in the country, and not far away from them.

“And what will you do next?” Shisui narrowed his eyes at her. He already knew her by heart, and he was sure Hanako was already planning her next move. He just hoped she wasn’t thinking about taking the Tsuchikage on her own.

Hanako didn’t say anything, just shrugged. Before Shisui could stop her, she jumped away from him and hurried towards a group of people she sensed heading to the border. Shisui widened his eyes and tried to follow her, but he was interrupted by another shinobi from Iwagakure. He clicked his tongue and unsheathed his _tantou_.

  
* * *

 

The Tsuchikage was on in his palanquin as he was being transported by four of his ninjas. It would be at least a five-day journey to get to Iwagakure but in less than twenty four hours they would be crossing the border and getting out of the Fire Country. The old man closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He still thought about the match between the Senju and the Uchiha, that had brought back to him long gone memories. A battle between the members of the clans which were once known as the most powerful in the shinobi world.

“Hanako Uchiha, huh?” The man opened his eyes. “She reminds me a lot of  _that_  man.” The Kage frowned. Suddenly, he felt a wave of chakra from behind and his lips tilted into a smirk. He activated his jutsu and flew out of his carriage. All the ninjas stared at him curiously.

“Tsuchikage-sama!” The old man started making hand seals.

“It looks like we’ve been followed.” He commented with an amused grin. “ _Doton: Doryuuheki._ ” From the ground a giant earth wall emerged that covered them from a fire jutsu that came towards them. The fire collided with the wall and cracked it due to its heat. After the fire dissipated, the earth wall crumbled down to the ground, turning into dust. “I’m surprised you managed to follow us here.” He commented in a mocking voice. “For a child, you have guts.”

Hanako chuckled at this and walked out from among the trees. “I should say it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Tsuchikage-sama.” She said with a fake smile until her frame became serious. “But unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

All the present ninja widened their eyes and got into a fighting stance. The old man crossed his arms over his chest and looked sternly at the girl for a moment. “You remind of someone I fought a long time ago.” Hanako frowned.

“I don’t care about the stories an old geezer like you might want to tell.” She pulled a kunai from her weapon pouch. “The only thing I care about is for you to teach your shinobi to not play with fire unless they want to get burned.”

The Tsuchikage raised a curious eyebrow at her. “Oh, yeah? How’s that?”

“You told your ninjas to attack the Hokage mansion.” Hanako narrowed her eyes at the flying man. “I thought the war was over and that you had signed a peace treaty.” The Tsuchikage laughed at that.

“I don’t see why a brat like you should be worried about internal relationships between the two villages. Leave this to the adults to deal with.” The old man turned his back to her and started heading back to his carriage. “Go home.”

Hanako tightened her hold on her kunai and bit her lip. She observed the Kage and before he got in his carriage, she launched the kunai at him, grazing his cheek. Time stopped. Everyone started at the old man. The Iwa ninjas were surprised for what had happened while Hanako only smirked. She felt somewhat proud for what she had managed to do. The Tsuchikage slowly turned to her.

“Girl...” he mumbled lowly. “Do you have any idea of who I am?” He inquired in a dark voice. The girl raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. “I am the Third Tsuchikage, the fearful Ryotenbin no Oonoki.”

 

* * *

 

Shisui dodged all of the attacks that were directed towards him and jumped away from the Iwa ninja, his eyes never leaving the spot in which the brunette disappeared in. He thought about following her, forgetting for a moment that he was still amidst a battle. A ninja had sneaked on his back and was ready to strike before another one countered him and knocked him out cold. Shisui only heard the sound of a body falling stiffly on the ground and he turned to find Itachi standing right behind him with a kunai in his hand and a shinobi lying at his feet.

“Thanks...” He muttered slightly embarrassed guessing what had just happened. He had let down his guard.

“No problem.” Itachi just shrugged. “I’m used to watching your back.”

“Don’t get too cocky with me Itachi.” Shisui muttered under his breath getting slightly offended at his comment but forgot about it too quickly. He crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not like you have to do it all the time.” Itachi looked at him amused.

“Don’t I though?” He commented before watching around as if he were looking for something. “Where’s Hanako?” He finally asked.

“She went after the Tsuchikage.” Shisui said as he massaged the sides of his head trying to alleviate his imminent headache. “I swear...One day that girl is going to cause me a heart attack.” Itachi widened his eyes. Hanako had gone after the Tsuchikage...alone?! He was about to respond but another voice interrupted him.

“I’m getting tired of you!” Right after that both Uchiha felt a prominent amount of chakra being molded. “ _Mokuton no Jutsu!_ ” Hyori’s wooden ropes tied all of the Iwa ninja together and thus giving an end to the battle.

“Wow...” Shisui whistled. “I’d never seen a Mokuton user in action.”

“Nice.” Itachi smirked. Hyori blushed at this but turned away before anyone could notice.

“It was nothing...” Shisui noticed her action and started chuckling gaining the younger Uchiha’s attention.

“What’s so funny?” Shisui cleared his throat as he ceased his chuckling. He then shook his head as if nothing had happened.

“I’ll just, go ahead and look for Hanako. Catch up with me okay?” He said before he disappeared into thin air.

 

* * *

 

“Ryotenbin no Oonoki?” The brunette raised an eyebrow. “Never heard of it.” The old man started laughing.

“Of course not. How can a girl like you possibly know about me?” The Tsuchikage turned himself to look fully at the girl. “But don’t worry.” He added with a dark voice. “I’ll just show you why I’m so feared.” The man brought his hands together. Hanako narrowed her eyes when she felt him mold a great amount of chakra and took a couple steps back, waiting for his attack.

Suddenly her eyes widened when with her Sharingan she was able to see the amount of chakra the man was focusing on his hands. When he pulled them apart, his chakra transformed into a cube with a white sphere inside. The chakra was too shiny and intense, but it wasn’t a reason for Hanako to look away from it. She gulped. All of the Iwa shinobi stepped back utterly terrified. Oonoki just smirked.

“It’s over.” He mused. In a second the cube disappeared from his hands and was now surrounding the brunette. Hanako widened her eyes even more now.

“What?!” She checked all the space around her. There was no escape.

“ _Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu._ ” The white sphere exploded, turning into dust everything inside the cube before it disappeared. The Tsuchikage smirked, believing that it was over now. He turned around, ready to head back to his carriage when he heard a voice that froze him on his spot.

“That was close.” His eyes widened at the voice. He turned around to find Shisui Uchiha standing there with the girl in his arms. “Sorry for being late.” He said.

Hanako struggled in his arms and opened her eyes to look up at him. “Shi-shisui?” She then looked around; he had saved her from being pulverized. “Thank you.”

Shisui simply nodded, putting her down. They both looked up at the Tsuchikage with determined eyes. He just chuckled.

“ _Shunshin no Shisui_ , the name does suit you.” The Tsuchikage commented as he started turning the earth around him into shuriken, “However, I’m not done yet.” He made a hand seal. “ _Doton: Ganseki Shuriken._ ”

There were thousands of earth shuriken heading at high speed toward them. Shisui, upon noticing this, hurried and covered the girl with his body, waiting for the impact of the countless weapons. Although it never came.

“Wha—! What is that?!” All the ninja accompanying the Tsuchikage yelled terrified. The black haired Uchiha pulled away and looked up, his eyes widening when he took in the skeletal figure that surrounded them. He then turned to look at Hanako and was surprised when he noticed her panting, but that wasn’t even close to the surprise he had when he stared at her eyes.

“Hanako...you?” She smirked.

“This is...Susano’o.”  _‘Or at least that’s how Madara had called it,’_ she thought. The ninja started attacking on a rampage, but all of their attacks were repelled by her Susano’o.

“Stop the attack!” Oonoki ordered. Everyone complied without remark. “This isn’t the first time I see this jutsu. No matter what kind of attack you use, the Susano’o is an absolute defense.” The man said as he focused his sight on the Uchiha girl. “Your eyes, that look in them. You resemble him a lot.” He said before planting his feet back in the ground. “We will retreat, and we won’t attack Konoha in the near future.” He said as he started marching in the opposite direction to them.

“Wait!” Hanako, regardless of her exhaustion and all the chakra she had used, stood up. “Who are you talking about? Who do I remind you of?”

Oonoki stared at her. “Madara Uchiha.” Hanako’s eyes widened. Her mind wandered back to the old man she had met in that dark cave. Susano’o vanished.

“You fought him?” she asked.

“A long time ago.” The old man replied. “I suppose the situation within the Uchiha Clan is already tense enough. I don’t see the reason why make an enemy out of you. However, it was interesting watching your fight. We’ll meet again, Hanako Uchiha.” And with that he left, followed by his ninjas.

Hanako watched the man as he walked away. His words still lingered in her mind. “ _I suppose the situation within the Uchiha Clan already tense enough._ ” What did he mean by that? What situation?

She fell to her knees, not having the strength to stand anymore.  _‘Looks like this is my limit...’_ She smiled slightly when she saw Shisui hurrying towards her, and behind him the rest of the team running in their direction.

“I’m sorry, Shisui...” she muttered barely audibly before she was consumed by darkness.


	32. The Chuunin Festival

_The scent to_ medicine and alcohol was unmistakable. Hanako fluttered her eyes open, and regretted it almost instantly when light rushed into her pupils. She moved in reflex to cover her eyes but pain and soreness stopped her movements. Hanako took a deep breath, and opened her eyes again, this time slower. Her blurred vision focused until she was able to see the hospital room she was in. Then she looked at herself. She was bandaged from neck to toes, but at least there were no needles stuck in her. She relaxed.

Hanako sat up and growled slightly at the effort when a sense of dizziness got into her. She went to grab her head, applying pressure in her temples to make it stop turning. She sighed when it stopped, and dragged her hands down her hair, untying knots in the process. She pulled her hair to the front, combing it with her hands, and widened her eyes in horror when she looked at its tips. Her hair was a pure black color, but it had started to revert back to its normal brown color from the top of her head down. Hanako stared at it with her mouth open until she heard her bedroom door open.

“I see you’re finally awake.” Hanako looked up and found a nurse standing at the door frame. She slowly walked up to her and started to check her. She pointed a light on her eyes, and smiled when both pupils contracted. “It appears to me that you’re perfectly fine.”

“No, I’m not…” Hanako looked up at the nurse with worried eyes.

The nurse was surprised by her words. Hanako never argued with nurses about her well-being. In fact, she always wanted to be discharged as soon as possible. “What do you mean?”

“My hair is black. Why is it black?” she asked seriously.

The nurse stared at her for a moment, and laughed softly. “Oh dear, you really outdid yourself this time, didn’t you?” she pat Hanako’s head in a motherly gesture. “Shisui-kun told me you overused your Sharingan and collapsed. Your eyes are probably still adjusting to normal, I’m sure you’ll be able to see properly in a few hours.” She leaned closer to her and muttered, “Your hair is still brown, don’t worry, no one dyed it in your sleep.”

The nurse smiled one last time at her before walking towards the door. Hanako was astounded. She looked again at her tips, and pressed her lips into a thin line when she realized what the nurse said was true. Her hair was back to its brown color, but she was certain it wasn’t the case a few minutes ago.

“Hanako,” the nurse called one last time. “Your friends are waiting for you outside. Your clothes are in the closet near the window. Get changed and then you can leave.” Hanako nodded with a smile and watched her close the door. Then she looked at herself and frowned at the hospital gown she was wearing.

“These things are so gross.”

 

 

 

Itachi and Shisui were sound asleep, sitting on the floor with their backs leaning against the wall right next to her door. Itachi rested his head on Shisui’s shoulder, while Shisui rested his head on top of Itachi’s. It was a cute sight, and Hanako smiled. “You both look so cute right now, and I’m drawn to take a picture. Too bad I don’t have a camera with me.” They both moved. Itachi was the first to wake up.

“Hanako?” He looked up at her with a scrunched face. “How are you?” He stood, earning a glare from Shisui. He had been so comfortable, and now he was in a foul mood after being forced to wake.

“I’m fine,” Hanako shrugged with a smile. “How are your backs though? Did you sleep here all night?”

“We were worried about you,” Shisui spoke. He straightened himself, humming loudly, and stood up. Hanako looked at the ground. She didn’t like people worrying about her, but knowing they did felt strangely good.

“You shouldn’t have…” she muttered lowly.

“Oh come on,” Shisui raised an eyebrow. “Let’s not talk about what we should or should not do, because I have a long list of things I want to say to you.” Hanako flinched and looked away from him. “But…” Shisui relaxed with a sigh. “I won’t bother you right now, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Hanako looked at Shisui. He was staring down, with a crease between his eyebrows. “What is it?” she asked.

“We took the Iwa ninjas to the Hokage for further interrogation,” he said. Hanako widened her eyes.

“And?”

“He let them go after we told him the Tsuchikage had said he wasn’t planning an attack on Konoha in the near future.”

“What?” Hanako snapped. Shisui shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

“He let them go,” he repeated. Hanako’s eyes moved from Shisui to Itachi. He was looking down with a grim expression.

“I heard you the first time,” Hanako sighed and closed her eyes. “I just don’t understand…they tried to attack him, and he just let them go?”

“He’s probably just trying to avoid another war,” Shisui commented. “Nothing big happened because we were there. At least he’s grateful for that.”

Hanako opened her eyes again and looked at the boys. She probably expected too much from the Third.

“He also wants the incident to remain a secret,” he added seriously. Hanako sighed.

“I understand…” She turned away from them and started heading towards the exit. “I’m going home to rest.”

“Sure…” Shisui nodded. “See you tonight, then?”

Hanako stopped on her tracks and looked at Shisui from over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “Tonight?”

Shisui snickered, Itachi only looked at her with a plain expression. “Tonight’s the Chuunin Festival, you silly,” Shisui explained. “It’s a tradition of the village to organize it the day after the Final Rounds. Its purpose is to commemorate those who participate and become Chuunin.”

“Really?” Hanako tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t remember ever being to a festival.

“When Hikari became a Chuunin, she chose not to attend. I’m not letting you make the same mistake.” Shisui smiled mischievously.

“It’s just a festival,” Hanako sighed. “I don’t see what’s so important about it.”

“You don’t have a choice. The four of us are going together,” Shisui stated matter-of-factly.

Hanako looked at Itachi and then at Shisui. “Four?”

Shisui’s grin only widened. “Hikari should come as well. Maybe we can challenge each other in the game stands.”

Hanako pondered the situation and finally a smirk came to her mouth. “I see what all this is about. You suck at making plans Shisui.” Shisui’s grin disappeared and he looked at Hanako with confusion. “You’re setting us up aren’t you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…” Shisui raised his hands, feigning innocence. Hanako only narrowed her eyes at him.

“You intend for the four of us to go, but you plan to ditch us so you can be with my sister, don’t you?” Hanako continued to ask.

Shisui shook his head, “Again, I don’t—”

“You really need help,” Hanako sighed. “Fine, I’ll help you. I’ll convince Nee-chan to come with me to the Festival. Then we casually meet with you, and you drag her away subtly.”

Shisui frowned. “Why are you suddenly helping me?”

Hanako smiled. “Because you’re like part of the family already, so why not make it official?” Shisui blushed.

“Wow, that’s like the kindest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Don’t get used to it. Sucker.”

“Troublemaker.”

Hanako grinned as she looked at Itachi.  “You’re coming then, or should I ask Takeshi?”

“No!” Itachi snapped. “I mean I—I’ll come too. Sounds like fun, watching Shisui ridicule himself for a girl.” Hanako laughed.

“Itachi!” Shisui blushed furiously.

“You guys are hilarious, how come I didn’t meet you earlier…” Hanako chuckled and turned and continued her way to the exit. Shisui and Itachi watched her go.

“Ridicule myself for a girl, huh?” Shisui looked at Itachi with a glare. “You ought to stop embarrassing me publicly just to earn points with Hanako.”

“Why? It’s the only thing that seems to work.”

Shisui sighed. “You also need help.”

 

* * *

Hanako walked home very slowly. Events from the previous night were still circling her mind nonstop, and she was trying to push them out of her memory. Having fought against the Iwagakure shinobi, facing the Tsuchikage, and eventually collapsing of exhaustion. “You did well in the exams.” Ibiki’s voice snapped her attention towards him. She looked up and found him standing in front of her with a cynical smile.

“Ibiki-sensei?” Hanako looked away from him. “What brings you here?”

“There’s something I want to offer you,” he said. Hanako frowned and looked at him again. “There is a vacant in my division, and I was wondering if you might want to take it.”

“Wait, you’re offering me a job?” she asked incredulously. 

“Yes, I would like you to join the interrogation and information gathering division.” Hanako opened her mouth to reply but no words came out. “You don’t have to give me an answer right away,” Ibiki said. “Think about it, and look for me when you make a decision.”

Hanako watched Ibiki walk away from her, and sighed.

 

 

Home, Hanako opened the door and took off her sandals before entering the house. “ _Tadaima_!”

“What took you so long?” Hikari appeared from the kitchen with a raised eyebrow. Hanako smiled with a shrug.

“I was so exhausted I had to spend the night at the hospital to recover,” she said. Hikari shook her head with a chuckle.

“I guess I should have expected it…”

“Hikari,” Hanako said softly. The girl looked at her with raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“Why didn’t you go to the Chuunin Festival?” Hikari sighed.

“It’s just a stupid tradition the village had. I’m not really fond of crowded places, so I decided to skip it. Why?”

“Well,” Hanako looked away with a small blush. “I want to go, but I want you to come with me…”

Hikari looked at her little sister with wide eyes. She really didn’t expect Hanako to want to go to such activity. She frowned. Maybe, just maybe, there was something she planning, a prank or something. After a few moments, Hikari sighed and looked at Hanako with curious eyes.

“Is there a reason you want to go?” Hanako looked at her sister with wide eyes.

“Why do you ask?”

“I never expected you to want to go.” Hikari smirked at her, crossing her arms over her chest. “So, who is it?”

Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line. If she didn’t say something fast, Hikari would realize she was up to something and her plan would fail.

“Itachi…” she finally muttered, making Hikari grin widely.

“Oh?” Hikari leaned closer to her sister. “Does my little baby have a crush on a boy?”

“Hey, don’t call me ‘your little baby’!” Hanako glared at her.

“You should take advantage of the position before the twins are born. Then, you won’t be the baby of the family anymore.” Hikari raised an eyebrow.

“I’m eager actually.” Hanako pursed her lips. “Just…help me impress him, okay? He’s going to be there.”

“Really? I thought he’d rather stay at home?”

“Shisui is taking him.”

“Shisui is going too?” Hikari gasped, and Hanako looked at her curiously.

“What, do you have a crush too?” she smirked. Hikari looked away with blushed cheeks.

“Of course not!” She turned away and walked up the stairs. “Get ready!”

Hanako chuckled. It amused her to witness her sister flustered. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Hanako approached it and opened it to find Takeshi standing on the other side. When he looked at her, he looked away at one side and scratched the back of his neck. Hanako could tell he was nervous about something, but she had no idea what could it be.

“Hana-chan…you see…I was wondering if…you would like to come with me to….the uh….to the festival?” he ended, looking up at her with a cheeky smile.

Hanako chuckled, and looked at him with a smile. “I’m sorry Takeshi, I already promised my sister I would go with her.”

Takeshi’s grin became sad, and he looked at the ground. He was trying to hide his disappointment. “Oh… it’s okay… I’ll just go with Kazuki then…” He started to leave, but then stopped. “Congratulations by the way…I’m sure you became a Chuunin. Everyone loved your match.” He started to walk away.

“Thanks Takeshi…” Hanako sighed, walking back into her house.

 

 

“Are you ready?” Hanako was looking at her reflection in the mirror when her sister came into her room. Hikari had put on a white kimono decorated with small sakura flowers and a red obi around her waist. She had tied her black her up into a tight bun, leaving some bangs to frame her face. “What? Is there something wrong?” Hanako smiled. Hikari had put on makeup, light and almost natural.

“You’re also trying to impress Shisui, aren’t you?” she asked, looking at the ground. “You like him.”

“I don’t—”

“You don’t have to lie to me,” Hanako looked back up at her sister. “I already know. I’ve known since about the third time he came over. The way you look at each other, the way you talk to each other, the way you tease each other… it’s a lot different from the way I interact with Takeshi.” Hanako sighed and walked towards her sister. “Say it, you love Shisui, don’t you?”

Hikari smiled slightly. Chuckling she turned away from her. “I… I love Shisui. I’m just scared, because of who he is. How people look up to him…” Hikari’s smile disappeared as she looked at the ground. “They probably expect him to be with someone more… relevant.”

“Hikari…” Hanako bit her lip. “The Clan has stupid rules, you don’t have to let them stop you from being with who you want to be. Especially, if he wants to be with you too.”

Hikari looked at her sister with wide eyes. “He said he wanted to be with me?”

Hanako chuckled, shaking her head. “You have no idea how many times I’ve taunted him about it.” Her chuckles transformed into a full hearted laugh. “All these planning to go to the festival together, it’s actually because he wanted to be with you there. He’s planning to ditch me once we get there.”

Hikari looked away with an apparent blush on her cheeks. “Will you be okay?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said Itachi would be there too,” Hanako shrugged. “I’ll hang out with him. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Did you lie about your crush on him?” Hikari looked up at her sister with curiosity clear in her eyes.

Hanako bit her lip as he looked back at her with a plain expression in her face. “I’m not sure… being with him is… intriguing.” She chuckled slightly. “It’s like, he’s really trying hard to get to know me. And it’s nice.”

“He’s going to be really handsome when he grows,” Hikari randomly commented. “The problem is, he’s also going to become the Clan leader.”

“Are you saying I’m not good enough for him?” Hanako raised an eyebrow at her, with a crooked smile.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Hikari said bluntly. Hanako looked at the ground.

“I told you not to worry about me,” she said in a downcast tone. “I’ll catch up to you downstairs, I need to finish getting ready.”

Hikari was about to say something, but refrained from doing so when Hanako went back to looking at the mirror and fixing her hair. Instead, she walked out the room.

 

* * *

 

Itachi was finishing to put on his black yukata when his father came into the room. Fugaku, upon noticing his son well fixed, raised both his eyebrows in wonder. “You’re going to the festival?”

Itachi looked at his father and nodded. “Shisui wanted me to come.”

“Shisui or…” Itachi sighed.

“What is this about, Father?”

Fugaku sighed and leaned against the door frame. “I…wasn’t able to make it to the finals. I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay, I know you’re busy with work.” Itachi continued fixing his hair, aware of Fugaku’s stare on him.

“Your mom was there, she said you were incredible. That you beat the Iwagakure Genin in ten minutes.”

“He had a low guard,” Itachi shrugged.

“How was Hanako’s match against the Senju girl?” Itachi looked at his father with a serious face.

“She won.” That’s all he said.

“Good.” Fugaku turned, about to leave the room. “Your mother wants to have dinner together, to celebrate your promotion to Chuunin. So come back early.”

“I haven’t been promoted yet,” Itachi said.

“You will be,” Fuagku said. “By the way, bring Hanako. We would like her to accompany us.”

Itachi widened his eyes as he watched his father leave the room.

 

* * *

 

Hanako and Hikari walked through the numerous stands in the road. It was just starting to get dark, but the place was already crowded. In the end, Hanako had put on a red kimono decorated with black shuriken and a black obi around her torso. “Did you realize what you’re wearing is a gear kimono?”

Hanako looked at her sister and rolled her eyes. “Do you realize I don’t care?”

Hikari hushed. Just then, she caught sight of Shisui in one of the stands. When Hikari approached him, he shoot off all the cups that were assembled in a pyramid. The man behind the stand looked at him with a grim face before giving him a bear plushy. Hikari mocked him and then blushed terribly when he gave it to her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Hanako smiled and looked away from them. She decided to leave, and give them their space. They clearly wanted to be left alone. Itachi hadn’t come, Hanako noticed. But she didn’t want to admit she felt disappointed. She just didn’t have anyone to hang out with anymore.

She didn’t want to go back home. She had a hard time putting on the kimono and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. She could always go find Takeshi, tell him that her sister ditched her for her boyfriend, but she didn’t want to bother anyone at the moment. Maybe she needed to be alone for a while.

Hanako walked on the road for a few minutes, just looking around, until a stand called her attention. People were throwing shuriken at targets, but they always seemed to fail on their last try. Hanako smiled and walked to the stand. “May I give it a shot?” she asked.

The man looked at her with a grin. “Feeling lucky? Five ryou per game.”

Hanako gave him the money, and he gave her three shuriken. The man then pointed back at three different targets, each one clearly more difficult than the previous one. “If you hit the center of all three targets, you’ll win a prize.” Hanako nodded with a confident smile.

“I think I want the falcon,” Hanako said, looking up at the plushy hanging from the roof of the stand. It had its wings spread and its beak open as if chanting.

“Choose after you win,” the man sneered.

Hanako scoffed. “Fine.” She aimed for the first target, her shuriken nailed in its center. She aimed for the second target, the shuriken was nailed in the perfect center. She aimed for the third target, and launched her shuriken. She wasn’t sure what happened, but she could swear she saw the target move slightly to the right and the shuriken was nailed astray from the center.

“I’m sorry little one, wanna try again?” he smirked.

Hanako looked at him with a frown. “You’re such a cheat!”

The man laughed. “Come on, don’t throw a tantrum just because you lost at a silly stand game!”

“I want to give it a try.” Hanako recognized the voice immediately and looked at her side to find Itachi. When he looked at her, he smiled.

“I’ll get that falcon for you,” he said. Hanako felt heat rushing into her cheeks and looked away with a hush.

“Yeah, good luck with that…” she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Itachi chuckled and gave some coins to the man behind the stand. The man gave him the shuriken and explained the rules to him. Itachi nailed the first two shuriken in the center of the targets in one shot, surprising the man. Hanako noticed that he was moving his fingers and looking at the targets with a concerned face.

Itachi nailed the third shuriken in the target’s center. The target didn’t move. Hanako gaped at it. The man sighed and went to bring down the falcon before giving it to Itachi. Itachi smirked at him and gave the falcon to the girl. “It was a fun game,” Itachi said to the man with a smile before looking at Hanako.

“How did you—?” she started to ask but Itachi had pulled her away from the stand.

“I was watching you play from the other side of the road. With my Sharingan I noticed that there were chakra strings tying his hand to one of the targets. In my turn, I cut those strings with the first two shuriken, so he couldn’t move the third target.”

Hanako sighed. “He was a puppeteer.” She laughed. “I should have seen that, I guess it takes a cheater to understand another cheater,” she mocked him with a smirk.

“Will you ever stop teasing me about it?” Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not a chance,” she laughed before walking away from him. “Come on! I know a place in the mountains where we can watch the fireworks!”

Itachi smiled and followed her.

 

* * *

 

“Are we really going to leave them alone?” Hikari asked as she and Shisui observed Hanako and Itachi playing at a stand. They remained hidden, among the crowd, so that neither of the young Genin could see them.

“Let’s leave them to hang out,” Shisui smiled. “You know, Itachi really likes your sister.”

Hikari looked at him amused, “Does he?”

“Yeah, he was really concerned about her during the exams. They even worked together to finish the second test.”

Hikari smiled. “I see,” she turned to look back at Itachi and Hanako. The boy had won a plushy falcon and given it to Hanako. “Shisui, has Danzou tried to get Hanako lately?”

“Just once when I was with her,” he replied.

“Do you have any idea why he might want her?” she asked casually. Then she laughed nervously. “No, of course not. Why would you?” Shisui sighed.

“Hikari, I haven’t been completely honest with you.” Shisui looked at her. “And I am sick of lying, I can’t do this anymore.” Hikari looked at him. “Fugaku and I have been investigating your sister. We believe she’s related to a woman named Amane Uchiha.”

Hikari widened her eyes. “Amane Uchiha? Who is she and what does she have to do with my sister?”

Shisui took her by the wrist and pulled her away from the crowd, towards a place where he could speak to her alone. He intended to tell her everything, because he needed her help.

 

* * *

 

Hanako had taken Itachi to the top of the Hokage Mountain. Itachi had only been there when the Kyuubi had attacked the village and all civilians had been evacuated. However, at the time he didn’t have the chance to contemplate the sight.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Hanako commented with a smile, getting Itachi to look at her. She was still holding dearly onto the falcon plushy in her hands. “You can see everything from up here. The village, the sky…It seems like it’s a full moon tonight,” she looked at Itachi, catching him staring.

The boy looked away with a bare tinge of pink in his cheeks. Hanako chuckled.

“You’re cute when you blush,” she said.

“Stop it,” Itachi closed his eyes, clearly flustered. “Don’t say things like that.”

“Why not? Did I embarrass you?” Hanako giggled.

Itachi didn’t say anything as he looked down at the village. “I have to go back home early,” he said. “I’ll probably leave after the fireworks start.”

Hanako’s smile died when he spoke, and she looked at him. “Why do you sound so sad?” she asked. “Don’t you want to go home?”

“I am having fun tonight,” Itachi said, looking back at Hanako. “But my family wants to have dinner together, to celebrate I got to finish the Chuunin Exam.”

“You mean your promotion?” Hanako smirked slightly.

“We don’t know yet if we—”

“We passed,” Hanako interrupted him. “Both of us.”

Itachi widened his eyes. “How can you be so sure?”

“I talked to Ibiki-sensei today,” she sighed. “He wants me to work for him in Konoha’s Intelligence Division. He would only offer me such a position if I had been promoted. And if I am promoted, then you should be as well. We both won our matches anyway, didn’t we?”

Itachi looked at her curiously. “Are you going to accept it?”

“Accepting it means I don’t get to be a part of Team 4 anymore. I don’t get to be in missions with Takeshi and Kazuki as a Chuunin. They will probably replace me with some other Genin.” Itachi grabbed Hanako’s hand, surprising her. She looked up at him. 

“They’ll never replace you.” Itachi smiled. “Someone might be assigned to complete the team, but that doesn’t mean you stop being their friend. That you leave their team doesn’t mean you stop being comrades.”

Hanako smiled slightly. “I guess you’re right.”

“Come home with me,” he suddenly said. Hanako widened her eyes. “If we were both promoted, then you should have dinner with us.”

“But it’s your family dinner…”

“So?” Itachi shrugged. “Father asked me to bring you anyway.”

Hanako raised an eyebrow. “Did he?”

Itachi chuckled. “He did, or else I wouldn’t have suggested it.”

“But, Ita—” Hanako was suddenly interrupted by an acute whistle and then a faraway explosion. She looked up to see colors brightening up the sky. Fireworks.

“Please come,” Hanako looked back at Itachi, but he was focusing his sight on the colored sky. “I don’t want to have dinner with my family by myself.”

Hanako felt her heart clench. What could be wrong with Itachi? She smiled slightly and grasped his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. Itachi looked at her. “Of course,” she said softly. “Itachi, I’m your friend and I’ll always be there for you, you know that, right?”

Itachi smiled. “I do.”

 

* * *

 

Hyori had been walking along with Kaichi and Ren through the crowded streets. They were looking for nice spot to watch the fireworks, which would start soon. The Senju looked around until she felt a hand over her shoulder and she turned her head to find Kaichi looking at her before pointing towards a pair of kids who were wandering the road, seeming just as lost as they were.

“Aren’t those…?” asked Kaichi.

“Hey! Kazuki-san! Takeshi-san!” Ren suddenly called in their direction, not giving a chance for Kaichi to finish his sentence.

“Nevermind,” the blond smiled and pulled away from her. Hyori chuckled softly, shaking her head. The two boys from Team 4 smiled softly before approaching them.

“Hey guys…” Takeshi greeted with a hand gesture while Kazuki only nodded and hummed as a form of greeting.

“How do you feel?” Hyori asked Takeshi, noticing his slightly bruised arm.

Takeshi looked down at his arm and smiled with shake of his head. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.” He looked around, as if he were looking for someone. “Is there a chance you might have seen Hanako anywhere?” he looked at Hyori with a hopeful glance.

Hyori sighed, looking away from him. “No, I was actually wondering the same thing.”

“I already told you, she probably left us for her Uchiha gang,” Kazuki commented while saying the ‘Uchiha gang’ part with some distaste. Hyori arched an eyebrow at him.

“Why are you so hateful towards the Uchiha?” she asked. Kazuki looked at her in surprise.

“I’m not, it’s just…”

“It’s called jealousy.” Takeshi snickered. “He doesn’t hate the Uchiha. He just envies them because they spend more time with Hanako than we do.”

“What?!” Kazuki turned to look at his companion incredulously. Hyori pressed her lips, trying to suppress a chuckle.

“Tell me, what does it feel like to be fed with your own spoon?” Takeshi finished, sticking his tongue at Kazuki, who just glared coldly at him.

“You seem to have a lot of experience in the matter, or are you speaking for yourself?” Kazuki smirked when Takeshi’s grin vanished.

“Just you wait until I have a good comeback.” Takeshi crossed his arms over his chest while turning his head away from his companion.

“The point of having a comeback is having at the moment, you idiot,” Kazuki interjected.

Hyori chuckled along with her friends. A high pitched sound caught her attention and she looked up at the sky just in time to see the fireworks explode in various colors. She smiled at them. Movement called her attention near the Hokage Mountain and she looked at it. She made out the figure of Itachi and Hanako who were together staring up at the firework show in the sky. They were holding hands. Hyori smiled.

“You’re so lucky to have people like them around you, Hanako,” she muttered under her breath, not even realizing the words that had come out of her mouth.

“Hey,” Hyori turned to look at Kaichi, who was smiling at her. “Why don’t we go and grab a meal? I’m quite hungry.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “Sure thing.”


	33. The Secrets of the Mangekyou Sharingan

_Mikoto had prepared_ fish for dinner along with tempura vegetables. If Hanako had to compare her mother’s cooking to Mikoto’s in a competition, Mikoto would definitely win. “This is delicious, Mikoto-san!” Hanako said with her mouth full.

Mikoto chuckled softly. “Thank you, Hanako-chan. I’m glad,” she replied as she watched Hanako continue to devour her food.

Sasuke watched the girl with a slight frown. “When did we decide to invite her, Tou-san?” he asked without taking his eyes from Hanako.

Hanako looked up at the boy and smiled. “What is it, Sasuke-kun? Don’t you like my company?”

Sasuke’s frown deepened. “No, I don’t.”

Hanako did her best to appear offended, placing one hand over her chest. “Oh my, you hurt me, Sasuke-kun!”

“I asked your brother to bring her along,” Fugaku explained. “So, control your manners Sasuke.” Sasuke looked down after his father spoke. Hanako gave him a victorious look but it died when she noticed Sasuke’s sad expression. “We invited you here to celebrate both yours and Itachi’s promotion to Chuunin. Please continue to become important Shinobi for the village.”

“Of course,” Hanako looked at Itachi who had remained silent for the entire evening, only looking at his brother from time to time. When he looked back at her, he smiled softly before continuing to poke his food. When Hanako looked at his plate, her eyes widened. He hadn’t eaten anything.

“Thanks for the food,” he said suddenly and stood up from the table.

“But Itachi, you haven’t even touched your plate.” Mikoto looked at her son with a concerned face.

“I’m not hungry,” Itachi bowed at his mother before leaving the room. Sasuke became eager all of a sudden, eating the rest of his food in a single mouthful.

“Thank you for the food!” he snapped with his mouth still full before leaving the table after his brother.

Mikoto sighed, “Kids…” she muttered.

Hanako was still looking at Itachi’s full plate with concern. “Hanako,” Fugaku’s voice snapped her out of her trance and she looked up at him. He was staring at her with stern eyes. “May I speak to you in private?” She pursed her lips into a thin line and nodded.

 

 

“You may already have an idea about why I asked you here,” Fugaku said as he sat in a futon. Hanako was sitting in another futon in front of him.

“I have no idea, Fugaku-sama,” she said. The leader smirked.

“A scroll went missing from the Uchiha Library during the exams. Did you know about it?”

Hanako looked at Fugaku in the eyes. “No, I didn’t.”

“Are you sure about that? It was the transcript from the Uchiha stone tablet. The only reason someone might have stolen it is to be able to know what the stone says.” He sighed. “Why would you need to know what it says?”

Hanako frowned. “I don’t need to know what it says.”

“Everyone needs to know what it says at some point, they just can’t read it. That’s what the transcript is for.”

“Can you read it without the transcript?” Hanako suddenly asked. Fugaku was taken by surprise.

“Do you know what’s required to read the stone?” Fugaku narrowed his eyes at her.

Hanako smiled. “I was just wondering, Fugaku-sama, I don’t understand what the big deal is.” She tightened her hands into fists. “I find books extremely boring, as you might want to know. So I’d rather stay away from libraries.”

Fugaku didn’t seem at all convinced, but Hanako stood up and left the room without letting him continue. She made her way to the kitchen, only to find Mikoto cleaning up after dinner. She hadn’t touched Itachi’s plate, so it was still on the table.

“Do you need any help, Mikoto-san?”

The woman looked at her and smiled. “Oh, are you done speaking with Fugaku already?”

Hanako shrugged. “You could say so.” She looked the plate again and sighed.

Mikoto noticed and smiled. “Can you take the food to Itachi’s room? Maybe you can get him to eat.” Hanako looked at Mikoto with surprise.

“I…”

“You go out, surround the house, and it’s the door right in front of the pond. You won’t get lost.” Hanako sighed taking the plate.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mikoto smiled again. “ _Arigatou_ , Hanako-chan.”

 

 

Finding Itachi’s room wasn’t difficult. Just as Mikoto had said, it was the door in front of the pond. The problem was, she wasn’t sure what to say to him. Should she ask him what was wrong? Was it really her place to care?

“Itachi…” Hanako sighed, knocking on the door. “Mikoto-san is worried about you, so she sent me with your food. Would you please eat?”

The door opened, and Hanako was surprised to find Sasuke glaring up at her. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What are you still doing here? Isn’t it late for you to be hanging around here?”

Hanako sighed. “I am worried about Itachi, aren’t you? He’s not eating.”

“My brother is fine.”

“Sasuke, let me in.”

“No.”

Hanako took a deep breath. Dealing with kids wasn’t something she liked, and she was definitely going to have trouble with that when her brothers were born. “Are you up for a deal?” she asked with a playful smile.

“What kind of deal?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.

Hanako kneeled in front of the boy to be at his level, and smirked. “I hear you like training. If you let me through, I will train you in whatever jutsu you want. I’ll teach you anything.”

“Anything?”

“If it’s something I know, then yes.”

Sasuke seemed to think about it and smiled. “Deal.” And he moved away from the door, closing it after she walked in.

Itachi’s room was just as Hanako had expected, neat and organized. Itachi was sitting on his bed, watching the sky through the window. Hanako sighed and sat next to him, carrying a wooden tray in her hands with his food. “What is going on with you?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, looking at her.

“Is there something going on between you and your father?” Itachi widened his eyes slightly. “I noticed the air was tense between the two of you.”

Itachi tightened his fist slightly and looked away back to the window. Hanako shook her head and lay the tray beside him as she stood. She walked towards the door, and looked at him one last time before leaving.

 

* * *

 

Hanako walked through the streets silently. Nothing moved; nothing seemed to make a sound. This place was strangely silent and the atmosphere was so tense she could easily cut it with a knife. That was until she heard a faint scream and turned around rushing to the sound’s origin. Her heart was beating rapidly and she could almost feel it coming out of her chest. Hanako made it to the street from where the sound came. It was completely covered in dead corpses. The blood dripped over the walls and stained the ground. She felt her hand move to cover her mouth as tears started to form in her eyes. Her feet started to move on their own as they guided her towards her home.

Hanako stood at the door and opened it slightly. She heard nothing. The girl entered without greeting and without taking her sandals off. She needed to know if her mom and siblings were okay, if they were still alive...

They were.

She could sense their chakra faintly but it was fading. Hanako also noticed her twin brothers weren’t there, only her mom and Hikari, and they were both dying. She found them at the back of the house, severely wounded and their chakra almost drained. She deduced that there had been a fight.

The Uchiha kneeled beside her mother and took her hand. She had long tried to stop the tears from falling. There was no use, they weren’t going to stop.

“Hanako...” She heard her mumble and leaned in closer to her. “Take care of your brothers,” her mother let out in a sigh. “I love you so much...” She sensed her crying from how her voice sounded. It pained her to see her mother like this.

“I’m sorry...for being so late.” Hanako tightened her fists.

“Hanako.” The girl heard Hikari’s voice a couple of meters away from where she was. She turned back to her mother only to notice that her face was pale and her eyes were already closed. She wasn’t breathing anymore and her pulse had already stopped. She was dead. Hanako closed her eyes and stood up nearing where Hikari lay and knelt down next to her. “Is that you?” The Uchiha smiled slightly.

“Yes, Nee-chan. It’s me.” She felt a new set of tears fall from her eyes. ‘ _Why did this have to happen? Why did I have to be so late_?’ she thought, closing her eyes tightly. “Dammit.”

“It’s okay, Hanako.” She smiled. “I’m not in pain...” Her voice sounded a little hoarse. She turned her head slightly to look at her little sister. “I want you to make me a promise,” she said and Hanako just nodded. “Promise me you’ll live. You will take care of Ryusuke and Hayato. You will train them and protect them with your life. I also want you to be happy. Get married, have kids and tell your grandchildren your story. Live long...” Her last words were barely a whisper. “I love you, little sister...” she let it out in her last breath. Her chakra faded and Hanako knew this was the end.

“Oh my...how sentimental,” a deep voice mocked. “So much that it’s disgusting.” Hanako glared at the man behind her, and charged at him with a kunai in hand. He swiftly kicked her on her stomach and she went flying to the opposite wall, crashing into it. The girl activated her Sharingan and looked around for him but didn’t find him anywhere. “Looking for me?” She heard him and felt as his hand suddenly gripped her neck, letting her breath away. “You’re a shame; you weren’t even able to save your own family.” He threw her once again against the wall and Hanako gasped as she coughed out blood. His mask... his cloak... This was Tobi... So, this was what Shiro Zetsu meant. The massacre…

Hanako opened her eyes and found herself in her room lying on her bed. She got up from it and walked to the other side of the room to stand in front of the full body mirror that was next to the door. The Uchiha looked at herself, she was ten years old, not thirteen. ‘ _How strange_.’ Hanako narrowed her eyes and looked at her face. Was it a dream?

Then she noticed her eyes. Her Sharingan was activated but not with the usual three tomoes. This one had a different form. Her chakra flow was wild so she figured she was in an illusion. Although she couldn’t sense anyone’s chakra near, not even Shisui’s. Hanako deactivated the Sharingan and her chakra went back to normal. ‘ _So, it was self-inflicted,_ ’ she thought. But now the question was, how she had managed to catch herself in a Genjutsu without realizing it. Strangely, it had felt so real. Hanako sighed and went back to bed.

“What was it?” she mumbled to herself. Then she closed her eyes and drifted once again back to sleep. “What...was it?”

 

 

 

That morning, Hanako woke up with a massive head ache. She felt as if someone was hammering her skull, trying to make a hole with a nail in her head. The throbbing was unbearable, and even the slightest sound —including the whistling of the wind— worsened the pain. She couldn’t even think, let alone talk or call for help, because her voice hurt her ears.

Hanako bit her lip and pressed her face deeper into the pillow before screaming her lungs out. She couldn’t take it anymore. She heard the door to her room open abruptly and steps hurried towards her bed. Not even a moment passed when she felt a hand running up and down her back, trying to soothe her pain. Hanako raised her head a little from the pillow to breathe, realizing she was now panting and sweating.

When she had gone back to sleep the night before after her nightmare, she had witnessed again all the images playing in her mind. Everything had happened the same way it had happened the first time. The only difference was that this time she hadn’t woken up in the middle of the dream, she had let it play a little more. But she couldn’t handle it and woke up again. It wasn’t pretty. She was afraid, especially since it had seemed so real. And why did she had the same dream two consecutive times?

“Oh my god! Hanako! Are you all right?!” She heard her sister’s loud voice call to her in worry and flinched because of the pain it caused to her ears. Hanako closed her eyes and deactivated her Sharingan after noticing that again it was activated. Hikari pulled her away from the pillow and sat her up, forcing Hanako to look up at her. Hanako opened her eyes slowly to meet hers, staring back at her with full concern. Hikari raised her hand to her sister’s face and with her thumb wiped away some tears from her cheek. Hanako hadn’t realized she had been crying. “Are you all right?” Hikari asked again, this time more softly. Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line, remembering the dream she had, and shook her head furiously. She had already lost her father, what would she do if she were to lose the rest of her family as well?

This time, Hanako felt the tears cascade down her cheeks as her sister brought her down to rest her head on her shoulder as she cried. “What will I do?” Hanako sobbed. She was sure Hikari heard her and was glad she didn’t question anything. She let her cry for a while, until she calmed down and just remained silent, staring absentmindedly at the ground.

“What happened?” Hikari asked after a few minutes of silence and Hanako pulled away to look up at her. Hikari was looking at her with a sad face, she gulped.

“A bad dream,” Hanako said roughly, and had to clear her throat afterwards to continue talking. “It was strange. There was a lot of death and…confusion…sadness…anguish…” Hanako started to recall all the emotions she had felt. She wanted to cry again but she bit her lips to prevent herself from doing so.

“It’s okay…It was just a dream.” Hikari smiled at her but Hanako wasn’t so sure of her words. It was a dream, then why did she have the same dream twice? Why did she wake up with her Sharingan activated both times Maybe it wasn’t Hikari she should ask about it. Maybe she had to talk to someone else, someone like Madara. Maybe the dream had something to do with the Mangekyou.

“Yeah, it was just a dream. It’s not like it’s going to become real or anything…” Hanako commented with a forced laugh.

“That’s right,” Hikari smiled at her once again and kissed her cheek before getting up and motioning for Hanako to follow her. “Let’s go, breakfast is ready.”

 

* * *

 

In his room, Shisui reread Amane’s files back and forth. “How is it possible…?” he asked himself as he stared at Hanako’s information file, with Amane’s file right next to it. “How could the two of you be the same person?”

_“Hanako will eventually surpass these stats, but Amane’s stats aren’t even complete. She died in the time of the First Hokage, and these files were made almost half a century later. The picture is just a cut out from Hashirama-sama’s personal photos.”_

_‘Hanako, is it possible to know someone you don’t remember?’_ Shisui wondered silently while staring at Hanako’s picture.

_“Stop the attack!” Oonoki ordered. Everyone complied without remark. “This isn’t the first time I see this jutsu. No matter what kind of attack you use, the Susano’o is an absolute defense.” The man said as he focused his sight on the Uchiha girl. “Your eyes, that look in them. You resemble him a lot,” he said before planting his feet back in the ground. “We will retreat, and we won’t attack Konoha in the near future,” he said as he started marching in the opposite direction to them._

_“Wait!” Hanako, regardless of her exhaustion and all the chakra she had used, stood up. “Who are you talking about? Who do I remind you of?”_

_Oonoki stared at her. “Madara Uchiha.” Hanako’s eyes widened._

Shisui hit his desk before his rubbing his face with his palms. Hanako remembered, or at least she knew who the Tsuchikage was talking about. “Madara Uchiha?” he asked out loud. He looked back at Amane’s file. She used to be a Shinobi who died at the times of the First Hokage, conveniently also Madara’s time. Was there any possible way the two of them could have been connected?

Hanako knows about Madara. At least that was something Shisui was certain of. But, did she know about Amane’s existence? That alone would give them a key about her abilities.

Shisui reached for a brush and a cup of ink, and reminisced.

 

  * Mastered Sharingan
  * Sensor



 

He observed Amane’s file, and sighed. These were just common abilities, not enough to validate any possible link.

_Hyori joined her hands into a seal and wooden pillars emerged from around her, which moved at full velocity towards the Uchiha brunette. Hanako activated her Sharingan and jumped just in time, dodging all the pillars moving her way. She jumped her way through and somehow managed to land safely on the ground, making a hand seal._

_“Katon: Gouka Messhitsu.” Fire erupted from Hanako’s mouth which in seconds incinerated all the wood that attacked her. Following suit, Hanako directed the same flame towards her opponent._

Shisui continued to write down. Hanako was suddenly able to perform wide range fire techniques. _Gouka Messhitsu, Gouka Mekkyaku…_ He had searched the Katon Jutsu in the Uchiha Library, but there was nothing on either of those techniques. She had lied about learning them from a parchment. Someone had definitely taught them to her.

Shisui wrote down Madara’s name. He was supposed to be long dead, but maybe he had taught them to Amane, and Hanako remembered about it. That would definitely link each other.

 

  * Susano’o



 

Shisui pressed his lips into a thin line. He remembered Hanako’s curved smile when she said: _“This is Susano’o.”_ She knew about it. _“The transcript of the stone has gone missing.”_ Fugaku’s voice rang in his ears. _“She watched her father die, there is a high possibility Hanako has…”_

 

  * Mangekyou Sharingan



 

She definitely had it, Shisui saw it himself. Her design was out of the ordinary, a three scythe-like tomoe pattern, curve enough to resemble the petals of a flower.  Hanako was the one who stole the transcript, and then went to the shrine to try to read the stone tablet.

Shisui put down the brush and leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh. He would arrive nowhere if he continued to speculate. He needed to speak to Hanako, as soon as possible.


	34. The Truth

_In the kitchen_ , Hanako sat down at the table and almost immediately her mother placed a plate of hot steaming miso soup in front of her, a plat of sliced fruit in the middle and scrambled eggs. Hanako waited until everyone was sitting down before eating.

“So, we have already chosen a name for the twins,” Akira commented and Hanako looked up at her with widened eyes.

“Really?” she gasped with her mouth full and Hikari threw a napkin at her.

“Don’t talk while eating!” she chastised. Hanako used the napkin to clean her mouth while dedicating her sister a glare.

“So, which are they?” she finally asked, turning her attention back to her mother. Akira beamed and looked up at her with a big grin.

“Ryusuke and Hayato,” she announced. Hanako felt as her blood ran cold and her frame visibly paled. Her chopsticks fell from her hand and she gaped at her mother when part of her nightmare suddenly came to mind.

 _“Promise me you’ll live. You will take care of Ryusuke and Hayato. You will train them and protect them with your life.”_ That’s what Hikari had told her in the dream. Hanako’s eyes drifted towards her sister. She was eating calmly, totally unaware of anything. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and did her best to give the most convincing smile to her mother, who was still looking at her expectantly. She was probably hoping to hear her opinion about the names.

“They’re wonderful,” Hanako said with a wide grin. It must be a coincidence she had dreamed about them before she knew them, right? Or was she asking for too much?

“Right?” Her mother was so excited she couldn’t help but feel happy for her. It was just a dream, she shouldn’t put so much thought into it.

Hanako heard a knock on the door and stood up. “I’ll go get it!” She hurried towards it and opened it to find Itachi on the other side. She raised her eyebrow at him. “What are you doing here so early?”

Itachi smirked. “It’s ten in the morning, you call that early?” Hanako was taken aback and turned to look over her shoulder at the clock hanging in the wall of the living room. Her eyes widened when she realized Itachi was right.

“No way, I couldn’t have slept that long…” Hanako muttered under her breath and turned back to Itachi when she heard a soft chuckle coming from his way.

“It’s okay. Go and put on some proper clothes, the Hokage is calling for us.” Hanako looked at herself and raised an eyebrow. She was wearing her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of shorts and tank top, all white.

“Can’t I just go this way? It’s a really hot day anyway…” She chuckled when she noticed Itachi had paled, and closed the door in his face. Hanako hurried to her room and quickly changed into her ninja gear before going back to the living room. Right at that moment, Hikari walked out of the kitchen and looked at her questionably.

“Where are you going?”

“The Hokage’s. Itachi came here to tell me he’s waiting for us,” Hanako replied. Hikari sighed.

“So, I’ll take it you’re not going to finish your breakfast,” she stated, making Hanako look at her.

“I’m sorry, I’m not hungry anyways…” she commented, dragging a bit the words. Hikari chuckled.

“Alright,” she shook her head, trying to dismiss her previous action. “Just go before I get tempted to lock you in your room before you decide to leave again,” she finished.

Hanako scoffed. “Good luck with that…” and she walked out the door. Itachi waited for her, and looked up when he heard her exit the house. “I’m ready,” she smiled slightly before starting to towards the Hokage Mansion.

 

 

Along the way, Hanako was lost in her mind as she thought of all the possibilities of what the Mangekyou Sharingan could be. If it was a type of Sharingan only certain special Uchiha possessed. Whether it was good or bad, and what abilities it might convey.

Hanako was brought out of her trance when she suddenly felt something warm slide into her hand. She looked down at it and found a hand wrapped around her own, their fingers intertwined. Her eyes moved up, following his arm, until they met Itachi’s intense black irises. He was staring right back at her. All colors rose to Hanako’s cheeks and she looked away.

“What were you thinking about?” Itachi asked softly. Hanako could almost hear him smiling and she felt a weird sensation in her tummy. She knew she was crushing on him, hard, but she wasn’t yet willing to admit it.

“Nothing.” She knew he didn’t buy it. Itachi never believed any of her silly excuses, but she couldn’t blame him for that, they were so random at times she wouldn’t believe them either.

The two of them remained silent for the rest of the way to the Hokage’s. When they opened the door, they found Hiroki already there. He looked at them with a mischievous smirk once he noticed their joined hands. Hanako let go of Itachi and went to stand beside the green haired boy.

“It was about time you came,” commented the Hokage while looking at them with the same smile Hiroki had on his face.

“I’m sorry,” Hanako chuckled nervously. “I overslept, Itachi had to call me personally.” The Third chuckled.

“Well, I called you three here because I have great news to deliver.” The Genin all looked at him expectantly. The Hokage pulled out from of his drawers three green vests. “Congratulations! You three have approved the Chuunin Promotion Exam.”

Each one of them was given a Konoha vest and a certificate of promotion. They all smiled at each other and bowed respectfully at the Hokage, thanking him before they walked out of his office. Once outside, Hanako laughed. “I guess your father was right, Itachi, we were really promoted.”

“Well, there would have been something strange if you hadn’t been promoted,” Hiroki said. “Especially you Hanako-san, you set a record in the Forest of Death.”

“Really?” Hanako arched her brows. Hiroki laughed slightly and patted her head. Hanako scoffed.

“Well, Itachi, Hanako-san, I’m sorry. I’d like to spend the rest of the day with you guys, but I just remembered I had something else to do.” Before leaving, Hiroki approached Itachi to murmur something to his ear. Itachi widened his eyes before glaring at his teammate. Hanako frowned, wondering whatever Hiroki could’ve said to his friend. “Bye!” Hiroki waved his hand at the two Uchiha, leaving quickly before Hanako could ask anything.

“What did he say to you?” Hanako looked at Itachi questioningly, but the boy just turned to look at her with a small smile.

“Nothing,” he said. Hanako rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I saw your reaction, it had to be something.” Itachi’s frame became serious again before he shrugged.

“It wasn’t really important,” he sighed. “Do you remember that day I invited you to train with Sasuke and me?” Hanako raised an eyebrow at him but nodded.

“And that’s important because…?”

“You turned down my offer and told me to leave it for some other time,” he finished. Hanako’s lips curved up into a smile when she remembered that time.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” She continued to press down on the subject. Curiosity got the best of her as to where that conversation was headed. Itachi took her hand in his once again.

“It means I want you to spend the rest of the day with Sasuke and me, will you?” Hanako smiled widely.

 

 

At Itachi’s house, Sasuke waited at the front door. When he took notice of his brother, he stood up and ran in their direction. “Nii-san! Why did you take so long?!” he inquired to his older brother, inflating his cheeks in a childish manner.

“I’m sorry, Sasuke,” Itachi replied at him with a soft smile. At that moment, Sasuke seemed to notice that his brother handn’t come back alone, Hanako was standing at his side, smiling at him. Sasuke frowned.

“Why are you here?” he pointed a finger in her direction. Hanako laughed.

“Are you really going to treat me this way, Sasuke-kun? Don’t you remember the deal we made yesterday?” Hanako gave him a mischievous smile, and the boy widened his eyes.

“Deal?” Itachi looked at Hanako curiously, but the girl waved him off.

Sasuke asked, “Are you going to teach me a jutsu?”

Hanako nodded. “That’s right!”

Finally, Sasuke got excited. “In that case, I guess she can come with us,” he commented, trying to appear calm but Hanako could see the excitement in his eyes. She guessed he rarely received any individual attention during training.

“Then, shall we go?” Hanako looked at Itachi, who smiled back at her.

Sasuke grabbed her by the wrist and broke into a sprint. “ _Sou, Hanako-neechan, ikuze_!” 

 

* * *

 

Shisui moved as fast as he could in the forest. He needed to find Hanako before she got into real trouble for having the transcript. Shisui stopped when a knife was thrown at him, and was nailed in the tree beside him.

He looked up to find Root’s ANBU members looking down at him with their masks on. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes. “What is the meaning of this?”

“I know you have figured it out, Shisui.” Danzou walked out of some bushes in the ground below him. Shisui took a deep breath, trying to hide his annoyance. He didn’t have time to deal with Danzou at the moment.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

Danzou smiled as he looked up at him. “About Amane Uchiha’s relation to Hanako.” Shisui’s blood ran cold. “You don’t need to lie to me, I am aware Fugaku is carrying an investigation on Hanako right now. And you are the one in charge of it. Does Hanako know about it?” Danzou asked. Shisui didn’t say anything. “Of course not,” he continued. “How could you tell her that you are only training her because the Clan Leader told you to, so that you could inform him about her abilities?”

“What do you want, Danzou-sama?” Shisui gave the elder a rough glare.

“Let me tell you something, Shisui. You must know that Hanako is dangerous, and as the days pass she’ll only become even more dangerous.” Shisui narrowed his eyes, having an idea of what he was implying. “Your Clan should take care of her, instead of protecting her like you do. Trying to understand her is just a waste of time.”

“By that you mean…”

“You must eliminate her, or deliver her to us and we will happily take care of it.”

“That is out of question, we don’t murder our own,” Shisui hissed.

“That’s too bad, I thought you would be more understanding.” Danzou started to walk away. “Just so you know, Hanako is sneaking out of the village at night. I wonder who she might be meeting with…”

Shisui observed the elder walk away, and his ANBU disappeared with him.

 

* * *

 

“That’s not true!” Hanako replied to Sasuke for the millionth time.

“Yes it is!” he shot back.

They had been arguing for almost thirty minutes. Itachi had gone back to town to look for something to eat, leaving Hanako in the training field to watch over Sasuke. The current discussion between them circled around Sasuke mentioning that Itachi would win in a fight against Hanako, but she was against it. In other words, hell broke loose. Sasuke had so much pride in his older brother, that Hanako was worrying about him.

“It’s not!” she exclaimed, crossing her arms in front of her chest in frustration.

“It is! Nii-san is stronger than you, he could beat you at any time!” Hanako’s brow twitched.

“How can you be so sure about that?” she inquired. Sasuke smirked in her direction with a confident grin.

“Haven’t you seen him fight? He’s _so_ good, you could never compare to him.” Hanako clicked her tongue.

Itachi arrived at that moment, and looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow. He had brought a bag with three orders of dango with him. “What are you guys arguing about?”

“We are not _arguing_ ,” Hanako corrected with an annoyed tone. “I’m just explaining to your brother that I can beat you, but he doesn’t seem to understand.” Itachi looked at her and smiled mockingly. Hanako noticed it and narrowed her eyes at him. “Is there something you would like to add to that?”

“Actually there is…” Itachi said, walking in her direction. Sasuke grinned and began to cheer his brother.

“Go, Nii-san!” Hanako had her guard up, wondering if Itachi was really going to fight her. She honestly didn’t expect him to take such argument so seriously.

“Found you,” Hanako heard another voice behind her and her grin vanished. She looked over shoulder to find Shisui standing there, with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a smile on his face.

Itachi halted his movements and looked up at him. “Shisui? What brings you here?”

“I was looking for Hanako, there’s something I would like to speak to her about,” Shisui replied while staring intently at the girl.

“Now?” Hanako wondered while turning her eyes back to the older Uchiha. He nodded sternly, which caused her to sigh.

“Fine.”

“I’ll come with—”

Shisui interrupted Itachi in the middle of his sentence. “Alone,” he stated firmly. Itachi nodded slightly and retreated slowly. Sasuke followed him as they walked back towards the village. Itachi looked over his shoulder at Hanako and Shisui for moment, and then turned his back again until he disappeared from sight.

Hanako turned to look fully at Shisui. “What’s this about?” she asked.

“Hanako,” Shisui frowned. “Since when do you have the Mangekyou?”

Hanako looked up at him in surprise. “Man—gekyou?”

“Yes,” Shisui said slowly. “The jutsu you used against the Tsuchikage, the Susano’o, is a jutsu that can only be performed by users who have the Mangekyou Sharingan in both eyes.”

Hanako looked away from Shisui. “I…” she swallowed. “I don’t know what to say…”

“The truth might be a good way to start.” Hanako didn’t say anything. After a minute or two of silence. Shisui sighed exasperated. “What? Now you’re going to tell me that you learned about it from some old scroll you found at the library, huh?” Shisui raised an eyebrow looking at her expectantly. “Because this time I might believe you.” Shisui glowered at the girl in front of him. “An important scroll went missing last week, and casually, it mentioned details about the Mangekyou Sharingan and how to obtain it.” Hanako snapped her eyes shut. “You haven’t been inside the restricted area of the Uchiha Library, have you Hanako?”

“Shisui…” Hanako opened her eyes to look up at him.

“Have you?” he repeated sternly.

Hanako looked away from him.

“How could you?” The look on Shisui’s face showed more than betrayal. It showed disappointment.

“I can explain…” Hanako looked back at him with pleading eyes.

“Sure, you stole one of the most sacred transcripts from the Clan, how are you going to explain that?!” Hanako looked away with tears already filling her sockets. Shisui’s glare softened a little. “Have you been sneaking out of the village?”

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line. “Yes.”

“Where to?”

“It doesn’t concern you,” Hanako furrowed her brows, pondering how Shisui could have found out about it.

“It _does_ concern me,” Shisui frowned. “I’m responsible for your training, Hanako, and I—”

“ _Only_ for my training,” she replied with gritted teeth. “Besides that, my life is none of your business. You’re not responsible for me nor do I want you to be.” Hanako looked up at him, Shisui’s features had softened with sadness.

“Is this because of your father?” he asked, Hanako felt like her stomach fell. “If it is, I want you to know that I’m here for you and I can help you…”

“You’re _not_ my father,” Hanako hissed with tears falling down her cheek. “No one will ever replace him. Not you, not anyone.”

“You’re straying from your path, Hanako,” Shisui muttered loud enough for her to hear him.

“My path?” she asked chuckling dryly. “You don’t even know which path I want to choose. I haven’t picked one yet.”

“Be careful,” Shisui said. “The life of a Shinobi isn’t easy. Many lose their path and walk in darkness. I don’t want you to be like those who do, I want you to have something to protect so you never lose sight of light.”

“Why are you suddenly telling me all of this?” Hanako looked at him questioningly.

Shisui took a deep breath. “You can tell a lot about an Uchiha just by looking them in the eye, Hanako.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Sharingan reflects your emotions. It isn’t awakened as a self-protection reflex as many believe. It is awakened by a strong emotion, but unfortunately, in most users that emotion is a negative one.”

“Emotions?”

“Yes. Hatred, love, stress, loss. All these emotions release chakra in our brains that affects our optical nerves. When enough chakra is released, this causes our body to activate what we know as the Sharingan.” Shisui was speaking seriously until now, Hanako was almost surprised at how much he really knew about their Doujutsu. “With a certain amount of chakra, the eye evolves and becomes the Mangekyou Sharingan.” Her eyes widened.

“You mean…”

“Your Mangekyou is a product of your mixed feelings,” Shisui said. “I know that the loss you experienced after seeing your father die was even greater than that of your sister and your mother. Your eyes tell me so.” Hanako almost sobbed, but remained composed. “I know how important he was for you, he meant everything for you. But you have to move on, or you’ll be stuck with his ghost.” She looked at him sadly.

“Is the Mangekyou a bad thing?” she finally voiced her thoughts. That question had been lingering in her mind for a while.

“It isn’t.” Shisui shook his head. “But it’s pretty rare now to find an Uchiha that possesses it. I only know of three people who have it.” Hanako looked at him with wide eyes. ‘ _Three people?!’_

“You are not that different at all.” Shisui closed his eyes for a moment before opening them with the Sharingan activated, although with a different design. Her jaw dropped. Shisui also had the Mangekyou.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it’s considered a _Kinjutsu_ within the Clan, in other words we are not supposed to have it. You can’t tell anybody.”

“But why?” Hanako frowned. Shisui sighed.

“The Uchiha believe that in order to obtain these eyes you must kill the closest person to you. However, you and I have proven that it isn’t precisely true, we only experienced the loss of such person, without having to kill them.”

“You awakened your Mangekyou after your father died?” Shisui sighed while deactivating his Mangekyou. “Not exactly, but if it makes you happy, you can believe so.”

Hanako frowned. “Who did you see die?”

Shisui stared at her. “There are some things I’d like to remain secret.”  

The girl pursed her lips and looked at the ground. “What will happen to me?”

For once, Shisui didn’t know what to say. He observed the brunette with cool analytical eyes and then said, “You are a Chuunin now. You are considered an adult within the Clan. Now, you are allowed to assist to our secret meetings. Itachi has been going, but normally they only allow Chuunin level Uchiha to assist.”

Hanako looked at him. “Secret meetings?”

“It’s about time you knew the truth.” Hanako could notice the sudden downfall in his voice, as if whatever happened in those meetings wasn’t something to be excited about. “From now on, nothing will be easy anymore. But please remember that you are not alone.”

Hanako nodded.

“Are you ready?”

“I was born ready.”

“You are the clan’s lethal weapon.”


	35. Important Note

Hello readers, 

This is a small letter to tell you something important. There is a complete and edited version of this book in another platform. Please, if you are a new reader, head over there. You see, your reads and follows would really help me. Also, if you're rereading the story, try this new platform. I'll leave you the link in the chapter notes. I'll wait for you there :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https ://www. dreame .com/novel/1972116 .html
> 
> Be careful with the spaces, I added them in case the story gets taken down because of the link. Remember to copy, paste in the searching bar and delete the spaces before pressing enter. 
> 
> Thank you a lot!


End file.
